


Lipstick, Powder and Paint

by Chimera428



Category: Supercat - Fandom, Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Additional Warnings In Author's Note, Alien Amnesty Act, Alien Bar (Supergirl TV 2015), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Arrested, Art supplies, Body Paint, Canon-Typical Violence, Cat Grant Knows Kara Danvers Is Supergirl, Charity Auctions, Eventual AgentCorp, Eventual Alex Danvers/Lena Luthor, F/F, Hologram Astra, Jail, Lockup, Masturbation, Minor Alex Danvers, Minor Canonical Character(s), Minor Hank Henshaw, Minor Lena Luthor, Minor Lucy lane, Minor Original Character(s), Minor Violence, Mutual Pining, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, SuperCat Smut Games, Supergirl (tv 2015) Season 2, WTF Brain, bunk beds, consensual voyeurism, this was supposed to be so simple
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-08
Updated: 2019-07-04
Packaged: 2020-04-06 22:31:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 52,483
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19071997
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chimera428/pseuds/Chimera428
Summary: Kara decides to help a newly formed organization out by  setting up a charity auction event. Nothing goes according to plan.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Smut Games Challenge - 3 Things
> 
> Object : Art Supplies  
> Place: Alien Bar  
> Situation: Arrested
> 
> Also, some tweaking of the canon events, the story hovers in and around Season 2 but Mon-El never dropped to Earth in the pod, Cat never left CatCo and the Daxamite invasion never happened and various other minute details. 
> 
>  
> 
> [Playlist cause why not](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/65DGBAtqsDaf4iukIZoKeH)
> 
> **Update 10-31-2019 = I have a running list of 'to finish in 2019' as overzealous as that seems I'm still striving for it. This is one of those stories on that list for sure - as of right now this story is on hiatus until further notice.

“Is this really necessary, we-”

“-Were told to be quiet. Or does the concept of anything you say can and will be used against you, elude you?”

Cat shifted her jaw as Kara glanced over at her from her place across the room where she sat handcuffed to a bench. Giving a small shake of her head when she saw the glint in Cat’s eye.

“We know who you are and I’d think that’d be enough to keep your mouth shut, I hear TMZ is already outside.”

Cat clenched her jaw glaring at the man before looking back at Kara. The other woman was just as soaked as she was, a rainbow of water washed color still running over her clothes and skin in a slapdash frenzy.

Kara pulled in a deep breath, shifting with a small squeak before freezing in place. Cat raised a brow at her pulling her attention as the officer stepped aside to deal with more paperwork but remained within earshot just in case.

Cat cleared her throat absently causing Kara to frown before she tipped her head towards her own handcuffed wrist and made a fist. Kara looked even more confused and Cat let out a mock sigh, staying silent before gesturing with her hand for Kara to follow. Kara nodded, observing as Cat pointed to her and when she moved her own wrist, she gave her a thumbs up. She made another fist and pulled against her handcuffs as quietly as she could before pointing at Kara again.

Kara searched the space between them until her brain slotted into understanding. She looked back down at her wrist and then abruptly back up to Cat before shaking her head no. Cat tipped her head again, her expression one of irritation before she nodded her eyes going wide.

Kara swore she heard the woman’s voice in her head telling her to just do it before she pushed back against the wall and shook her head again stating no.

Cat made a small noise, almost as if she were saying her name like a warning before the office came back into their area.

“All right, ladies.” He dropped a pair of jumpsuits in both women’s laps as a second female office came in with a monstrosity of keys.

“Looks like you’ll be in overnight at least.”

“What?!” Both women exclaimed in unison as the male officer undid their cuffs attached to the holding bench before putting their hands in front of each woman and securing them once more.

“It’s too late to call the judge, clerk’s office is closed, and I have noted your vehement request to speak to Chief Rockwell. As good of friends as you say you are, I’d think you’d know she’s on vacation and otherwise unreachable.”

“What about a phone call? We get a phone call?” Kara tried as she was ushered along, shoulder to shoulder with Cat.

“Yes you do, once we’ve processed everyone and filed paperwork, you’ll be called to contact a lawyer. Until then it’s cellblock hotel.”

“You have got to be joking.” Cat looked over at Kara pointedly causing her to shy away slightly.

“Maybe next time don’t slum it,” the male officer provided as he escorted the two through the checkpoint

“Let’s keep it moving ladies.”

One at a time, they instructed each woman to hand over their personal items, log everything on a possession file in detail with value and then strip down. While Cat couldn’t have cared less, given her fair share of arrests for protesting in college and the countless times spent in green rooms, dressing rooms, award shows, and runway events aside from the body search it held no more weight than discussing the weather.

Kara, on the other hand, seemed to take it all far too personally. Modesty was an Earth custom, something she toed the line for when warranted and this was one of those times. Not so much the stripping down as the body search. She dressed quickly enough, her hands bound once more before they led her back to Cat.

Cat noticed the change in Kara’s demeanor almost instantly. She was stoic at best, features showing no real emotion any longer and her body stiff. She glanced to the officer who remained just as impassive and bored as she had been from the beginning. She dealt with them again one at a time, setting their hands along the digital scanner for their fingerprints, something Cat half expected Kara to protest but she gave none. Dutifully pressing one hand to the scanner before changing it out for the other.

What Cat didn’t realize were the security protocols already in place, thanks to Winn and Kara’s cousin. Hiding one’s identity involved more than a pair of glasses and a change of clothes. The moment the scanner lit up Kara already knew it would distort any record and the scanner would report no error or malfunction. Although it wasn’t as if she needed to worry otherwise, Kryptonian’s didn’t exactly leave fingerprints. Something to do with lacking the natural oils humans produced along with her inability to sweat.  The officer led them through a series of corridors and eventually directed to a solid enclosure with a single door and a long window

“Not even a shower?” Cat questioned, her hair still streaked with paint along with various places on her neck.

“There’s a sink.” The officer supplied before asking them to put their backs against the wall so she could remove their handcuffs. “Arraignment should be around noon, you’ll get breakfast unless you’re bonded out or a lawyer appears before then.”

The officer stepped aside, drawing the door closed behind them and locking it. She gave a small tug out of habit before heading back down the hallway.

Cat rubbed at her wrists while Kara moved to sit on the lower bed, the second had three steps for a ladder built into the end. Both had a set of blankets and a pillow that reminded Cat of coach class airplane fare. There was a sink, and a toilet tucked in a far corner with two rolls of toilet paper tucked in a cubby.

She pulled in a deep breath, arms crossing over herself as her gaze circled the room before landing on Kara. An idle thought fluttered across her brain as she took in the standard issue shirt and sweatpants the first officer had given them. Despite the dried paint in her hair and the rivers that had colored her skin Cat couldn’t help but notice the fitted contour of muscle beneath the otherwise bland garb. Kara had been holding out on her, with all her multiple layers and distracting patterns, she had never actually noticed the definition on display for her now.

Cat closed her eyes with a slow blink, chastising herself for more than one thought. Not the least of which could be outlined in a golden age pulp fiction. She moved after another minute, hoisting herself up without the aid of the built-in ladder onto the top bunk and out of sight. Kara watched after her for no other reason than to help her should she need it. After another lengthy round of silence, Kara turned, pushing the standard issue shoes off her feet and laying out on the slab of a mattress.

Kara wanted to say she was sorry but remained silent as she listened to Cat breathe and eventually seem to settle.

“Where are Red and Hacksaw?”

“Henshaw and I don’t know.”

“Shouldn’t you?”

Kara let out a small sigh, looking up at the concrete slab serving as Cat’s bed above her. She heard the other woman move again before she appeared over its edge.

“Well?”

Kara had ditched her comm when they were escorted before changing, knowing that would be harder to explain. Already grateful she had forgone her suit tonight beneath her clothes otherwise that would be a whole other nightmare.

“They took my cell phone.”

Cat stared at her for a long moment before disappearing again. She wondered if they were in the same police station or if their own government complement had swept them out of the fray. Either way, there had been more than just her and Kara in the transport van. When the two of them were separated from the rest, she just assumed it was to sequester everyone involved in pairs. Now she realized, given the location they had been arrested from, that it was more likely she and Kara were in the human side, while they had processed everyone else on the alien side.

That thought made her blood boil for an entirely different reason. Given the recent climate surrounding aliens and their quote-unquote sympathizers, she now wondered if those individuals were being mistreated and simply locked away and a key tossed. Even if her situation wasn’t ideal, they hadn’t been roughly handled or insulted, merely read their rights, processed and stuck in their little iron cage.

Which again only made her want to laugh, of all the things she could have possibly imagined, Supergirl being arrested and thrown in jail alongside her was never one of them. This hadn’t gone at all as she had planned. Not that one could plan something like this and clearly, someone had. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be in this mess. What was the most surprising, was how Kara hadn’t resisted. She had allowed the officers on scene to bind her with zip ties and haul her into a paddy wagon. No grand gesture, no super speed nothing belaying that she was the girl of steel.

Cat supposed Kara had her reasons, ones she would get in detail eventually. It wasn’t as if she had done much either given her status. She could have sent her emergency text to one of at least five lawyers would’ve had her out before the van even took off even with being zip-tied and hauled around lack a sack of potatoes. The second she had landed in Kara’s lap that opportunity slammed shut. She could’ve done it just before handing her phone over but again she hadn’t.

Perhaps it was nostalgia, she hadn’t been arrested in almost ten years, even then that was for contempt charges but still. It was impulse-driven, and while Cat had plenty, she never let them guide her without a thorough evaluation of the consequences. Cat sighed again, rubbing her hands through her hair, wincing at the stiffness of the paint threaded through it. Reminding herself to book an appointment with her stylist the instant she had the opportunity.

“You could get us out of here.” Cat allowed, straining to hear the woman beneath her.

Kara looked up over the rim of her glasses, easily making out Cat’s body above her. She let her gaze linger a moment too long before adjusting her glasses and blocking the woman’s frame out again.

“There’re cameras everywhere. Even if I could make it out, the second anyone came for you they’d know unless I managed to make it back. I can’t be in two places at once.”

“I thought you were fast.”

Kara tried not to let that sting and pulled in a slow deep breath on a ten count in an attempt to soothe the words where they struck.

Cat shifted her jaw, closing her eyes at her bluntness. “I had kind of hoped that trick you pulled off was just you.”

Kara heard the slight disappointment in Cat’s voice, recalling the time Hank had impersonated Supergirl to maintain her identity, as feeble a task as it was to look back on it now. She hadn’t told the woman it was her other boss or had assumed Cat would have determined that somehow which given her off-handed comment was a correct assumption.

“I know you’ve done this before,” Kara stated, although the want to be spiteful wasn’t in it. “We’ll be out of here before can count to ten.”

“Ten.”

Kara rolled her eyes letting out a breath through her nose as she crossed her arms tightly over her chest. She listened for only a moment longer to the woman above her before tuning her hearing to beyond their cell.

 

**\-------**

 

“I seriously cannot believe the both of you,” Lucy stated loud enough for the other agents on the floor to hear, flanked by Alex and Hank. “Do you know how many favors I had to pull just to keep you both from being arrested?”

“I could have managed.” Hank allowed before nearly running into Lucy when she stopped and spun.

“Oh yes, all the while hoping no one saw you shapeshift and haul you off, anyway. As it is we’ve got five other agents in there, not to mention the countless numbers of compromised aliens who I have personally promised we at the D.E.O. are going to vet to ensure none of them are wanted criminals.”

“We didn’t start it,” Alex argued as they walked through the desert facility once Lucy resumed the lead.

“You didn’t help it either!”

“Lucy it was a charity event, ever since the Amnesty act you know how tense it’s been-”

“Don’t, just because I’m in the desert doesn’t mean I’m out of touch with everything Danvers.”

“I wasn’t- I just thought you of all people would understand the situation.”

Lucy rounded through the operations area, crossing the common space before stepping into one of the more private meeting rooms, waiting for the two to join her before closing the door.

“I have a better grasp of it than you do.” Lucy offered, huffing out a breath as she collapsed into her seat, all her bravado and hard-assed posturing dissolving away much to Hank and Alex’s confusion.

“The hell Luce?” Alex questioned as she stood behind a chair, leaning over the back while looking at the other woman.

“Despite the ability to shapeshift, Henshaw’s got some big shoes to fill.”

Hank rose a high brow, taking a seat for himself as he leaned forward along the table. “Problems?”

“You could say that you kind of absconded with the A-team and some of these agents aren’t exactly welcoming of a woman in the director’s chair or dealing with aliens.”

“That’s kind of their damn job,” Alex said gruffly, glancing over at Hank before turning her attention back to Lucy.

“Yeah well, some of them are under the impression we’re the alien police. I’ve got a decent group, there’s a good handful I need to wash out and replace but I’m worried I’m only going to get more of those undesirables.”

“I don’t understand.” Hank offered, looking at Lucy. “The D.E.O.-”

“This is a prison, Hank, let’s be honest. When you moved major operations into the heart of National City, this place fell aside. Those you didn’t take with you, some of them were fine, thinking they could work their way up, some others… not so much. Neither of you are here, hell even Supergirl doesn’t show unless she’s dropping someone off. This is not the D.E.O., this is Alcatraz.”

Hank sat back slowly, looking over at Alex again. The both of them looking like scolded puppies.

“I can’t blame some of them, the others, that’s just a product of poor opinion and a lack of self-discipline. Either way, to answer your question, yeah I got some problems, and this is one more major one.”

“It was a charity event, we were raising money for defense funds and neighborhood betterment and-”

“I know, I was invited.” Lucy droned, holding up her hand to stop Alex before she waxed poetic. “As I said, just because I’m in the desert don’t think I’m disconnected, or did you forget I’m also a lawyer? A lawyer who has first-hand accounts of what’s at stake when it comes to the rights of aliens?”

It was Alex’s turn to sit back as she rubbed along her neck with one hand. Lucy let out another sigh, giving a small shake of her head as she looked at the two.

“Did no one stop to think that maybe advertising it on social media instead of say, word of mouth wasn’t the smartest idea considering the kind of target it creates for the opposition? Or that auctioning off actual art, framed, canvased art would have been the smarter option instead of-”

“That last bit was Kara’s idea,” Alex mumbled which only caused Lucy to straighten in surprise.

“You’re kidding me?”

Alex shook her head slowly back and forth as Lucy went from surprised to impressed with a small nod or two.

“Damn Midvale, and here I thought she was kind of-”

“A prude?”

“I was going to say conservative.”

“Ladies, as enlightening as this conversation is, what’re we going to do now?”

Lucy shifted her jaw, rocking her chair back and forth in thought. “Can’t do much right now, except try to get footage of what went wrong and prove no one inside the place was responsible. If we can do that more likely than not everyone’ll be released in one go. Assuming none of them are wanted for anything, which again we have to prove.”

Hank glanced between the two women. “So, why’re we here instead of working together on that?”

“Figured we’d wait on Kara, I’m sure she got out.”

Alex looked over at Hank, then back to Lucy. “You’re sure? You mean you didn’t-”

“Didn’t... what?” Hank made a noise that pulled Lucy’s attention while Alex winced internally. Lucy looked between both of them before pushing to a stand. “You’re telling me she’s been processed?!”

Alex made a face while Hank sighed and stood up as well.

“I’m sure by this point, yes she has, I saw her with Miss Grant-”

“You WHAT?!”

“Damn Lucy inside voice or something.”

“You’re telling me, they arrested Kara…. she didn’t zip off or babble her way out or pretend to show up as Supergirl to help? On top of that, Cat Grant, -the- Cat Grant, my former boss Cat Grant was arrested right alongside her?!”

 

**\-------**

 

**Four Ante Meridiem**

Kara had barely moved, although the same couldn’t be said for the woman above her. While she had been quiet at first, Kara knew better than to assume she was asleep. Even after lights out. Cat had a lovely little diatribe about that as well and how all of this was hampering her productivity.

Her glasses were tucked into the neck of her shirt, the two of them weren’t that big of a threat or the officers would have made her give them up no doubt. She heard Cat sigh with resignation above her but refused to look up beyond the lower edge of concrete that was the other woman’s bunk.

“Are you awake?” Cat cautioned quietly, perhaps too quietly. Kara felt her senses adjust to the softer tone and remained silent. Thankful for the distraction. Her mind was beginning to wander, her prone position on the joke of a mattress reminding her of her pod. She had been drifting through the building, pinpointing each humanoid sound just to ensure her mind went no further with that series of thoughts.

“Of course you aren’t. You could probably sleep through an earthquake.” Cat murmured, mostly to herself. “I just, I wanted to apologize. Those things I said earlier, I was angry and frustrated and shouldn’t have even hinted at using your extraordinary abilities to get us out of here.”

Kara chanced a glance up, seeing Cat’s aura like a halo around the phantom shape of her body through the stone slab. She was sitting up, back against the wall and somewhat relaxed.

“Didn’t get the chance to compliment you on your work, what little I managed to see before all hell broke loose.”

Kara focused on Cat’s heart, watching the organ drum away behind the cage of the woman’s ribs.

“I saw what you did for that one woman? I think, might not have been. They were the one with that whole crest and the horns. They should realize that despite not being human they’re impossibly beautiful, even if they’re frightening to some people. The look on their face when you were done.” Cat leaned her head back, looking at the corner as if looking out a window.  Immediately recalling the moment, not to mention her current assistant’s reaction right after. “Made me wish Olsen was there so he could have captured it, not relegated to the corner near that runway.”

Cat made a small gesture with her hands. “I would’ve put them on the next CatCo cover, might anyway after all this.” Kara tipped her head watching the other woman carefully through the concrete between them. “I know what you were trying to do, that kind of ambition is easy to perceive. Makes me realize I haven’t done nearly enough.”

Cat shifted, scooting towards the edge of her bunk. She hesitated for only a moment before peeking over the edge. Kara was asleep, or at least appeared that way. Her head was turned to the side, eyes closed, breathing slow and even.

“It’s easy to forget you’re not human,” Cat whispered, studying Kara openly. “The giveaway isn’t what you are, so much as how big your heart is by comparison to the rest of us.” Kara remained still, listening to every word as she feigned sleep. “Even though it didn’t end well, thank you for inviting me, Kara.”

The woman shifted slightly with her name, forcing Cat back and away. She lingered in the center of the bed for another minute just listening before sliding further down and stretching out.

 

**\-------**

 

“What we have here is a failure to communicate.”

“Seriously Lucy, you did not just quote that.”

“I could have said we’re fucked, but it seemed a little classier.”

Alex let out a groan, the conference table was a mess of paperwork with monitors behind them continued to run various checks and rechecks of all those that had been taken into custody.

“I don’t understand why I can just go in and get her out, or any of us for that matter.”

“We’ve already done that, with the others. If we go in there and demand Kara and Cat’s release they’re going to suspect one or the other or both of not being human. The fact they were separated from the rest is a good thing, a good thing that gets negated the minute we show government-issued IDs.”

“So let me go in as NCPD, or better yet Midvale PD. I can transfer them out.”

Lucy shook her head. “They’ve been processed already, nothing came up for Kara and anything on Cat is sealed or expunged anyway. It makes it even more suspicious if another police department is there from another city to take her in on something. Not to mention Cat’s problematic profile level. Winn’s doing all he can now with various media outlets to keep Cat’s name or face off any kind of social media or the looming morning news run as it is.”

Alex grumbled to herself, rubbing at her face to hide a yawn.

“Plus, we still have all these people to verify and the footage to break down.”

“Speaking of,” Alex piped up again. “What about the people who started it, the protestors outside? Any of them taken in?”

Lucy gave a small nod. “A few, none of those who stayed on the line. It looks like some other group got wind of what was going on and used them as a front.”

“So the police have some of them in custody.”

Lucy shook her head again. “Not exactly. They used the protest group as a front, pushed those already on edge to action and then bailed. They never physically provoked anyone from what the reports are saying. Verbally sure, it’s an incite tactic and hard to prove. It doesn’t appear as if they hurt anyone. Nothing beyond standard property damage either and nothing anyone would want to push right now in court.”

“Do you think it’s Cadmus?”  

Lucy shook her head. “Not unless Mama Luthor got out, which she hasn’t.” Hank glanced over at Alex while the woman gave Lucy an odd look.

“Did… you just call her-”

“Yes… there’s three out of four of them in jail.”  Lucy looked between the two. “What it worked in my head.” Alex gave a slow nod as Hank drew in a deep breath.

“I say we focus on the larger group, get them out as soon as possible. As you said Lane, Miss Grant’s profile alone will most likely afford her and Kara the kind of legal representation the others could only dream about.”

Lucy nodded as another series of reports filed in on her tablet. “Winn says he has more footage that might help us expedite that process, he’s combing through it now.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Nearly Twenty-Four Hours Earlier**

 

Kara crossed the main floor, thankful most employees had yet to arrive for work. It meant fewer people questioning her actions. Most of all Cat’s newest assistant. She checked through the CEO’s mail in hand before tucking her own little invite in with the small pile. 

A part of her realized if she had given it sooner, the likelihood of Cat actually showing up for her little event would have been exponentially higher. Then again, so would the countless questions and possible takeover of it. Honestly, that wasn’t exactly a bad thing, but this was something Kara was determined to do her way first before reaching out to other contacts like Cat who might be better suited for such things. 

Kara wanted the opportunity to at least try and still be willing to take on criticisms and constructive input for the next event. If there was one of course. She even had the first draft of an article for it, ready for edit and a photo or two once it was all said and done. It would be one more point towards her growing series on aliens that was already pushing her closer and closer to the front-page or even feature article in CatCo Magazine. 

She carefully fanned out Cat’s mail along her desk just as she preferred before turning on her heel and making her way out. As the office door shut behind her, Madison was coming off the elevator.

“Oh, thank God you’re still here.” The woman rushed, setting down her things all save for her purse. “Mailroom said you’d been by even though I know you have today off plus you keep answering all my questions and make me feel like staying is the best choice even though I cried twice on my first day-“

“Slow down Maddie, take a breath, what’s wrong?”

“Cat’s order, she changed it and I forgot to write it down and I was hoping maybe you knew so I could-” 

“Second change or third?” 

Madison searched the space between them. “Third.” 

Kara went through the variety of coffee orders Cat could have at any moment, given the month and the fact it was the third change. “Chai or Matcha?” 

“Oh! Matcha, the matcha one.” 

Kara made a face, remembering that one in particular. “Okay, when you go to Noonan’s tell them it’s for Cat, better yet, call ahead. Tell them you want the bulletproof mean green. They’ll know what to put in it and make sure it’s brought to boil, so it’s the perfect temperature when she gets here. Oh, and add a pinch of cinnamon and honey.”

Kara oofed when the other woman hugged the life out of her or would have if she were just your average person. 

“Thank you so much!” Madison already had her phone out by the time she let Kara go, making the call before heading back towards the elevators in a rush so she could make it back before Cat walked in. 

“No problem.” Kara rocked up on her toes, glancing back towards Cat’s desk before smirking faintly. She rounded Madison’s desk and punched the button for Cat’s elevator listening to the car as it moved higher. She gave a look around just before it opened and stepped inside in a rush before pushing the first floor. It was shameless, and she knew it but what were the odds she’d get the chance again. 

What she hadn’t been expecting was Cat to just waltz right into it once it reached the ground floor only to abruptly halt when she realized someone else already occupied it. 

“Kiera, what the-“

“Madison-“

“Incompetent-“

“Security noticed there was a stick, er- that it stuck so I, I was just making sure.” Kara glanced past Cat’s shoulder catching sight of the woman’s assistant who saw the two of them and rushed past before Cat could step back out. 

“Making sure of what?” Cat warned, stepping aside as Kara slipped through the small opening the woman provided. 

“That someone fixed it on my way out, no one else would dare to test it and I didn’t want you to have to take the standard-“

“I’d have helicoptered up.” Cat pressed, eyeing the other woman for a moment. “Where are you going?”

“Assignment, out for a thing, uh article. Early start and all that.”

Cat hummed with wry amusement, stepping further back into the elevator before pushing the button for the upper floor. “Ambitious. I like it.”

Just like that the doors closed and Kara let out a breath before adjusting her glasses only to have her cell phone ring. 

“Hello-oh! Yes sorry, I’m on my way, M’gann should be there she might be at the back. I’ll call her just give it a minute and I’ll be right there.” Kara worked her way out of CatCo’s lobby, working her way around the building and down an alley until she was certain no one else was around before taking off into the sky.

Literally a minute later she was touching down between buildings before rushing along the side of the bar, phone to her ear. “Hey it’s me, they’re he-“ 

Kara came to a stop, the small group of people gathered pulling her attention before she answered the woman on the other end. “Yeah, I promise no damages, you left a spare right?” 

Most of the group was hidden by layers or hoodies, loitering about patiently. 

“Hey everyone, so M’gann’s getting breakfast for everyone. The other artists will be here soon and I’m gonna let you in, give me two minutes,” there was a quiet murmur of agreement as Kara worked her way around the back of the bar. She slid a small panel out of place, grabbing the spare keyset M’gann had left just in case she didn’t make it back in time. 

As promised, Kara opened the bar, letting the group inside. Already a small workspace had been set up along the far wall with plenty of chairs covered in cloth tarps to accommodate. Each artist’s space was already outlined as was a myriad of varied art tools and supplies. 

“Okay, you all should have gotten your designated artists last night, there’s a sheet on the wall for those that didn’t. Remember this is about you being comfortable, I know that’s a little different for everyone so rule number one: bottoms must stay on, this is still a bar and the permit we have is limited because of the alcohol license.” 

Once inside the group seemed to be a little more relaxed, or decidedly comfortable as hoodies and layers were pried off. 

“I know it’s early for some of you and that’s ok, the second rule is to have fun and to give as much input as possible so the artists can do their job. Oh, also, just because you’re being auctioned off doesn’t mean you’re being auctioned off. It’s the art, it’s not a date or obligation or anything. You’ll have a picture with them and that’s it. Anything else is entirely up to you and there will be plenty around to keep it that way in case someone forgets themselves.” 

“Food!” M’gann announced as she and a few others brought in boxes of coffee and other items, filling the space with the unmistakable scent of breakfast and comfort. 

 

**\-------**

 

“Marion, confirm tonight with Morcant, get me the final layouts from art, remind finance of the budget meeting at two that I’ve just scheduled because of their ineptitude, verify my son’s father is picking him up for the weekend and call Tabatha to see if she’s available between filming this weekend and order lunch. Sushi.”

Madison waited until the door swung shut behind her boss before replying with the signature ‘yes miss Grant’ before picking up her phone. 

Cat rounded her desk, slipping out of her heels as she settles into her chair with a slow exhale. She muted the monitors behind her with a single command before looking over the fan of mail across her desk. The corner of her mouth quirked as she eyed the arrangement knowing her newest assistant hadn’t been granted the privilege. 

Her gaze settled on the card stock out of place, nestled within the middle of the array. Her fingers eased across it for a moment before she drew it free. The penmanship caught her attention first, few things were done by hand these days but it was easy to see the bleed of the ink where her name lived in all its calligraphed glory. 

She turned it over, scanning the date, time and place with a raised eyebrow before Kara’s finer handwriting obscured the edge. 

“I would love for you to come but understand if you can’t. Thought maybe you might give me some pointers. This is my first charity event.” 

Cat looked over the invitation proper, seeing the words art auction and intergalactic citizenship coalition only further piqued her curiosity. She set the card aside, turning to her laptop as she pulled the group up and found herself taken aback wondering when Kara had found the time. 

“Saving the world a little at a time…” Cat murmured, searching over the fledgling foundation and its mission statement before she scrolled further down, seeing the event listing she had a personal invite to. 

“Full of surprises aren’t you little bird.”

Cat shifted her jaw, pursing her lips together in thought before pushing her telecom button. 

“Marion, cancel tonight, reschedule for sometime next week, my tab.” 

 

**\-------**

 

“I can’t believe you’re pulling this off,” Alex said as she walked around the bar helping M’gann and a few others from the ICC get thing decorated.

“We, we’re pulling this off,” Kara said as she switched out the canister of paint for another, using a piece of cardboard to fine tune the nozzle. It sputtered for a second before paint came out in a fine mist until it satisfied Kara. 

“You all right? Do you need to stretch or-“

The woman seated on the edge of a stool shook her head looking down at Kara from her place on the floor. “I’m good. Thank you though.”

Kara smiled before warning it might be a little cold before she worked the airbrush over the woman’s legs in broad strokes. 

“I can’t believe you know what my solar system looks like.” 

Kara glanced up then back to her work, paying careful attention to the contours of the woman’s legs. “I have my sources.”

Alex watched Kara work for another minute or two before M’gann nudged her from behind. 

“Get on it Danvers, these things aren’t gonna hang themselves.” 

The bar was alive with activity, from people rigging extra lights for the small runway where karaoke usually took place to putting up banners and setting up various tables for the silent auction items. Winn was in a corner working on a point of sale algorithm for it all separate from the bar’s own systems while others rearranged tables and chairs to allow for better viewing once this thing got underway. 

The other artists were just as involved as Kara, turning their volunteers into living works of art while fans channeled any lingering paint smell out the open doors. 

“All right everyone, we’ve got about two hours before cleanup and polish. Rules are posted around the building for the auction but let’s go over it just so we’re all aware.”

The louder commotion faded while the artists kept working as M’gann looked over the bidding guidelines. 

“Ok so for you” she gestured to those that had volunteered to be canvases. “The auction winner is only bidding on your artwork, not you. This isn’t a bachelor’s auction, the winner gets a professional photo array which we’ll take here in a minute once the last of you are done, and they get a live photo with you after their winning bid. That’s it, I mean I know we’re blurring some lines, but it’s just art. Feel free to mingle and enjoy the night after your set but no drinking until after the auctions and everything else is up to your discretion and comfort, there’s a shower in the back for those who want to clean up after if you so choose.”

“We have security tonight so feel free to find anyone wearing the designated security shirts. Unless you gave your invites to your friends or whoever it is a two-drink minimum, bars gotta make money somehow. There will be four specialty drinks, one for each artist, this also goes towards the charity at a seventy-thirty split.”

“Second main auction, live canvas, each artist will get one lucky bidder to paint live, this is an early auction item so you have time to get acquainted and paint them up for the final showcase. They’ll get their picture array and a pose with the artist once that’s done. Other silent auction items will go on through the night and we can all thank those sponsors who donated packages and what not later on.”

“We’ve got the order sheets for artist showcase, I’ll be handing those out to the artists shortly so make sure you get your assignments. I’m passing around another sheet for dinner order, which has been donated by Noonan’s so again don’t forget to thank them when you can and that’s it.”

Kara stood slowly, shaking the air nozzle this way and that until she was happy with the results. “There you go, just gonna seal it over and you’re good to go. We’ll do touch-ups just before but you’re all done.” 

“Damn Kara,” Kara turned grinning at James who hugged her as he took in her latest work. “Should do this full time instead of reporting.”

Kara rubbed paint from her hands on her coveralls, trading out a canister of paint for one with water before clearing out the nozzle. “Who says I’m not? You have seen my apartment.”

“You would’ve told me, I’d be the first to buy one of your paintings.” 

Kara smirked as James shouldered his bag. “We’ve got a makeshift studio in the corner that should be rigged by now but I know you’ll adjust it.”

“Thanks, and thanks for putting a word in for me with the ICC, they want me to do some other freelance stuff after this.”

“That’s great! Kinda nice doing something proactive instead of reactive for a change.”

“Speaking of,” Alex interjected, “why don’t you carry that thought out and help me get the rest of this stuff hung up?”

James pointed towards the small studio setup giving Kara a wink. “That’s my cue.”

“This would go ten times faster if you’d power on,” Alex commented 

“Sure but where’s the fun? Besides no one here really knows-“

“Yeah yeah I know.” Alex waved her off. “Not like they’d tell you to leave.”

“No, but it might be too much for some of them. Supergirl is a symbol, maybe more for aliens than everyone else and she draws attention. Which okay we need some but that’s the wrong way to do it.”

“Hey, Danvers.”

Both sisters looked up at Vasquez who waved them over. 

“Now what?” Alex huffed as she let Kara hang the last of a banner before the pair of them joined the agent near the front window. 

“Friends of yours?” The woman nodded out while Kara and Alex followed her gaze. There were about six people standing across the way and none of them inviting. A couple looked repulsed while others just looked on pointing out various things around the building. 

“It’s a little early isn’t it?” Kara stated, watching the small group. “They must be from nearby-“

“Oh, I doubt it.” Susan offered, “your group put up some teasers to get more interest.”

“I told them to wait until we were closer to start.”

“Yeah well it’s almost five, this thing kicks off in two hours. That’s not too far.”

“Yeah well, right now they’re loitering,” Alex said with an edge to her tone before squaring up.

“Alex wait. Hey, wait!”

“All right folks,” Alex said loudly before Kara could yank her back. Where her sister stopped Susan continued forward flanking Alex’s rear. “I know it’s early and we have plenty of VIP tickets if you want but unless you’re buying, I need you to move along.”

“It’s a free country.”

“Yeah who are you to tell us where we can and can’t be.” 

Alex pulled out her badge and ID, laying it open for all of them to see. “The one with the authority to say because I said so, nicely of course.”

“Yeah well, I don’t recognize the authority of a sympathetic alien lover. Badge or no badge.”

Alex felt a wave of nausea and an overwhelming desire to move aside until someone stepped past her right shoulder. 

“The lady asked you to leave.” Hank’s deeper voice resonated and Alex stepped a half step back while the small crowd appeared as if they were all about to keel over and paint the street with their lunches. 

They dispersed just as quickly as they had shown up, a few grumbling away at how they’d be back before they were out of sight. 

“God, warn a girl before you do that again.” Alex made a face, shaking her head as the sickening sensation drained away. 

“Where’s the fun in that?” Hank offered with a smile as he turned to face his agents. “We’re going to need a few more people out here, I think if that threat is credible.” 

“Even if it’s not, we can’t have a mecca of law enforcement around, half these people won’t even show up.”

“I never said full uniform, just a few extra people for everyone’s benefit.” Hank amended. “This thing gets as big as I’m worried it will, it wouldn’t be a bad thing.” 

Alex sighed, rubbing at the back of her neck while Vasquez moved around. 

“He’s not wrong. People are going to show and others aren’t, some of the regulars might be put off, but it’s a good cause, a little extra safety isn’t going to hurt anyone.”

Alex looked back at the bar, seeing the odd shapes just beyond the windows still putting this together, while the volunteers from ICC moved outside to set up the outside. Few had it as good as Kara, with secret government ties and a superhero for a cousin who had ensured the roots of her earthly persona took so easily. 

“Kara put so much into this, of herself, not Supergirl, I just don’t want anything to ruin it.”

“All the more reason, I promise nothing big or flashy, and I’ll try to get the less conspicuous agents out here.” 

Alex smirked at Hank while Vasquez chuckled to herself. 

“I said try, didn’t say I could deliver.”

 

**\-------**

 

By eight o’clock the event was in full swing. Music, drinks, a catered food table and, of course, the auctions. Most of the silent auction had full pages of bids with a contact circle of new and rebids. That alone would have proven successful. What was really pushing the higher numbers were the four final canvas bids for each artist. The constant reiteration from the bar staff on that had certainly pushed that point, as had the living artworks that mingled about the bar. 

For smaller donations, Kara and the other artist’s had decided last minute to offer smaller, quick works for anyone who wanted them. Nothing too extravagant or large but enough for those with less money to offer a donation to feel like they were a part of it. 

As it was, countless patrons were milling about with bits of face paint or an arm, Kara was just finishing up some woman’s back when she caught sight of a hooded figure gradually making their way over. 

Security had stopped them but after a moment someone had allowed them to pass through. Kara directed the woman she had finished with over to the photo booth for a picture of the work done when the figure came to a stop in front of her. 

“You’re the one that writes the articles about aliens, right?”

Kara raised a brow, tipping her head down enough to see over her glasses. With her x-ray vision, she saw angular features and small spires of bone, a small array of horns poking out through hair and some kind of head crest. She felt her heart sink when the woman looked downward, pulling her hood further forwards. 

“Yes! Sorry, yes that’s me, can I-”. They shushed Kara when a handful of cash was pushed against her chest, her hands coming up to keep them from falling away while also holding onto the woman’s hand. Talons pressed into her coveralls and the skin beneath Kara’s hands was cold to the touch with a kind of ridged texture. 

“Would you… would you paint on me?”

Kara looked at the amount in her hands as the other woman pulled away before looking back up at the hooded figure. A flitter of light broke through the shadows revealing even more of their features and just how different she was and how difficult it must be even to try to fit in anywhere.

“What were you thinking of?” Kara questioned gently, catching a small shuffle of movement nearby before she turned her attention back to the woman in front of her. She drew a stool over, patting the seat making sure that the woman kept her back to the bulk of the room. 

“My face.” The woman eased onto the stool until she was comfortable. “Something, anything different, nothing big just kind of… normal.”

“May I?” Kara gestured to the hood as the woman wrung her hands in front of herself. With her nod and suit yes Kara reached further forward, pulling the edge of the hood back just enough to see the woman’s features. Her skin was the first thing Kara noticed, and how red it was, almost appearing scarlet with thin lines denoting what appeared to be scales. The angles of her features were more pronounced, stretching up into her head crest. 

Kara ignored a random comment drawing the stool closer and away from prying eyes. “Something normal?”

“More human.” The woman whispered as Kara’s brow furrowed. 

“I think you’re extraordinary and more normal than you’re allowed to be here.” Kara felt the woman’s shoulders relax before she nodded and Kara stepped aside to change out a paint canister before testing a few strokes against paper. “May I pull this further back or-” 

“Can it stay up? Just a little…” 

Kara nodded, she could work with that, grabbing a piece of paper as she folded it around the inside of the hoodie like a shield. “This might be a little cool.” 

“It’s ok.” 

Kara gave another nod, asking the woman to close her eyes before she made broad strokes with the air nozzle across the woman’s features, coating the brilliant red with a more neutralizing green tone. She gently edged the woman’s hoodie back a little further with each pass, asking that she open the zipper some so she could better reach her neck until the woman seemed lost in a kind of trance while Kara worked around her features and the hood rested on the edge of her horns. 

Kara traded out the paint canister for another, clearing the nozzle before grabbing one of her stencils as she continued to work and move around the woman, completely blocking out the surrounding noise and commotion of the event. She was so concentrated on her task she had failed to notice the approach of one Cat Grant.

“Just keep breathing nice and slow, if you fall asleep or something it’s ok,” Kara assured, carefully easing back the hood so she could blend the colors through before she switched to another canister. Kara adjusted one of her lights, smoothing angles with shadow and contour in the next moment. She carefully tipped up the woman’s head blending the rest down through her neck. 

Cat approached slowly, her initial entrance had involved a bit of glad-handing from the ICC organizers who showed her some of the auction items, of which she actually put bids down on, before she had excused herself. Her gentle excuse being the want to just be like anyone else here despite her profile. 

Drink in hand, compliments of one shocked Alex Danvers who was pulling bar duties, Cat made only one other stop. Marking her price down on a bid sheet before heading towards the artist alley. All manner of their talents were on display both from the full-bodied canvases wandering about to the smaller less intricate designs of other patrons. 

Her current attention was on the focused expression of her former assistant and the woman, or so she assumed, seated in front of her. She leaned against a support beam, half in shadow as the other woman concentrated on every nuance of whatever she was painting. It wasn’t until Kara eased the hood off the woman Cat even realized she was an alien, and unmistakable at that. 

From behind Cat made out the finer points of horns near the woman’s crown, the flush of red skin and a crest that grew back along her skull before tapering off into a more flexible feathering of cartilage or malleable bone. She felt the tug of her chest while Kara worked, the slow realization of what was being done settling into her very bones. 

This was what separated Kara from the rest, even from her other persona, something Kara had only recently confirmed and only because the situation had warranted it. While Cat prided herself on always knowing, that moment had still struck her harder than expected. 

Random acts of violence were just that, random. The one day she decided to walk as part of that whole self-change kick Kara had inadvertently put her on was the day she had a gun pushed into her ribs directing her towards an alleyway. 

Cat being Cat refused to give in, not willing to give up her purse and the whole of her life within it. They had struggled for a moment before he shoved her into the wall and backed up pointing the gun at her chest. She heard the shot and the crack of the bullet as it impacted with Kara’s bare hand. The woman had appeared out of nowhere and with another passing second, the man was literally hauled off the ground and thrown into the nearest wall. 

There had been a brief moment where Cat had wondered if Lois felt that same way with Clark. She had guessed his secret identity well before but when he had shown up as Kara’s cousin that had sealed both their identities in Cat’s mind. Until that moment. She had just stood there, sirens gradually growing closer as Kara turned back to her and rushed into her personal space. 

The way Kara had looked at her then, making sure Cat was all right was the same look Kara displayed now for the woman seated on the stool. Perhaps not as intense as when they had been in the alleyway but it was certainly close enough for Cat to recognize. 

Kara leaned back again, looking over the woman’s features and her work thus far. She grabbed for another stencil, holding it away from the woman’s face a bit as she sprayed in small random bursts. She switched to her sealer, spraying the nozzle clear before going over her work. She pulled a small fan over then to speed up the drying process as she set her tools down. 

“Is it all right if I touch you?” The woman nodded, her hands flexing against her own legs as she kept her eyes closed and waited. “I’m near your temples if I make you uncomfortable just tell me to stop okay?” 

“Okay. Just, uhm… try and avoid directly rubbing my crest, please.” 

“I will.” Kara cleared her throat, her suspicions of the woman’s origins all but confirmed with that request. She was an Ieneth, given her coloring and the arrangement of her horns she was most likely of a royal caste from what little Kara could remember of them. She eased her hands through the woman’s hair, carefully avoiding her crest as she arranged the long layers just so. 

“One more thing,” Kara uttered before grabbing a brush before swirling it in an array of water and paint. She shielded the woman’s features with another arc of paper before running her thumb across the bristles, sending a shower of paint and water along her hair and crest. She used her sealer one last time watching the small shiver of the woman’s shoulders before stepping back. 

Cat watched Kara’s smile blossom, despite the flicker of melancholy in her gaze. Kara reached for a mirror then, drawing the light back before holding the mirror up. 

“Open.”

Golden eyes came to life with the request and her reaction was damn near instant upon seeing her reflection. Her stare was so intense that Cat had to glance away, swallowing down half her drink to keep the stone forming there at bay. 

The woman rose up, hands wrapping around the mirror as Kara relinquished it to her. She touched the reflective surface, eyes turning glassy as she stared before looking up at Kara. 

“Oh no, is it too much? I’m sorry, I didn’t want to just hide you away, you really are beautiful even if it’s not human looking I-“

“It’s amazing.” The woman whispered, her inner lids blinking before she closed her eyes to keep the tears from spilling over. 

Kara had softened her skin tone, and some of her more angular attributes but still accentuated the parts of her features that made her alien. The crown of horns was less prominently displayed with the slight changes Kara had managed with her hair and the iridescent paint made it appear as if the stars resided there and along her crest. 

“Thank you.” 

Kara shook her head, lowering the mirror before changing it out with the handful of money the woman had given her prior. 

“I can’t I-“

“Need it more than I do or the charity fund. It’s meant to help you, not break you.”

“Kara!” 

Cat sucked behind the pillar with the familiar voice just as Kara looked up while the woman in front of her startled. The edges of her crest lifting slightly in response.

“It’s ok.” 

The woman swallowed visibly as the person who had shouted closed in on her space. 

“Oh my God, I didn’t know you were so good!”

“Madison, what’re you?”

“I got an invite.” 

Kara felt her heart sink a little, knowing she hasn’t given her one and being Cat’s assistant, could only mean-

“But I haven’t seen…” Madison stopped cold as the woman in front of Kara turned to look at her. Kara frowned as recognition slowly crept over Madison’s features before she took a small step back. 

“Felryn?”

The woman’s crest fluttered a little before she turned further and straightened while Kara stepped back to give them space. 

“You two, know each other?”

All Madison could do was nod as the other woman, Felryn, gave a small nod. “I invited her.”

Madison searched over Felryn’s features, stepping closer as she reached out to touch her face before curling her fingers back realizing they were not the only ones there. 

“Sorry I uhm, yeah we’ve met, she lives in my apartment building… what did you-“

“Kara did it.” Felryn rushed, swallowing down her nerves. “I wanted to look-“

“You always look nice.” 

Felryn made a slightly disappointed face dropping her features as she turned to walk away. Kara looked at Madison who looked right back inside of what to do. Kara made a gesture towards the retreating woman before mouthing the word ‘go’. 

Felryn stopped with the hand on her arm, turning back around with the tug at her forearm as Madison stepped closer. 

“Did you do this for me?”

“Not exactly no. I… did it for me mostly and a little for you. I know... I know I scare you or have. You’re not the only one, I just thought maybe it wouldn’t be so much to take if-“

Felryn was silenced immediately with the brush of Madison’s lips against her cheek, her crest rising again with the gesture before the other woman stepped back again. 

“You never scared me,” Madison admitted, glancing down at her hand where Felryn was running her taloned fingertips across her palm before Madison threaded their fingers together. “Can… can I buy you a drink or something?” 

Felryn grinned, revealing her double set fangs before she caught herself and ducked her features down only to have Madison lift her chin back up gently. 

“You don’t have to hide, not from me.” 

Kara smirked watching the exchange, the fact Madison was involved was surprising but then again Kara knew little beyond what the woman provided at work. 

“That was unexpected.” 

It was Kara’s turn to freeze with the voice behind her, one that made the hair on the back of her neck stand up before she turned to see Cat leaning against a support beam taking a casual sip of whatever it was she was drinking. 

“You came…” Kara whispered, mostly to herself as she studied the other woman. 

Cat kept her features impassive, taking in Kara’s appearance, wondering how someone could look the way she did in oversized coveralls and splattered with paint. “I was invited.” 

“I didn’t- I mean I thought maybe but-” 

“But what? I wouldn’t be seen with the rabble?” 

“No, your schedule isn’t very last minute worthy and-” 

“Maybe I made an exception, maybe I was bored.” Cat offered with a small shrug. “Either way, I’m here.” 

Kara noted Cat’s more casual attire, nothing so basic as jeans and a t-shirt but it wasn’t too far off. She was devoid of her usual accessories, her hair was wavier, softer, and her make-up was understated, save for her eyes. Her eyeliner was a touch thicker, and with it the green of her eyes stood out like Kryptonite. The fact those eyes were focused on her didn’t lessen the comparison, especially with the rapid jump of her heartbeat. 

“You’ve been holding out on me.” Cat allowed, setting her empty glass down before pushing off the support beam and stepping closer. 

“I.. don’t know how?” 

Cat stepped close enough to touch her, plucking at her coveralls before stepping towards her little artist station. “You never said anything about actually using that degree of yours, one of them anyway.” Cat looked over the polaroids Kara had tucked against the top of her open toolbox of at least three individuals Cat had seen walking about. “It’s impressive.” 

“Thank you?” Kara offered, her hands slipping into her back pockets. Cat looked up at her, genuinely taken aback at the near demure posturing the other woman exhibited. 

“You can take a compliment better than that.” Cat mused, working her way out from Kara’s little booth back towards her. 

“All right ladies, gentlemen and varied gentle beings…” one of the ICC volunteers came over the karaoke system, pulling everyone’s attention. “I’m going to need our resident artists and their living artworks to head up here for bidding!”

A round of cheers and applause echoed out just as Cat got close enough to touch again. 

“That’s going to be me,” Kara said, chewing on her bottom lip before she reached for Cat’s hand to make sure she had her full attention. “Please don’t leave?”

Cat glanced down at the paint-streaked fingers wrapped around her wrist before pulling her hand up enough to curl her own fingers around Kara’s hand and squeeze gently. 

“Send me a drink while I wait then.”

Kara heard the call for her name sending Cat a grateful smile before letting her go to head to the small runway. She stopped at the bar, ordering Cat a drink as she glanced over once more. Watching Cat get comfortable on her stool before she made it over while the woman on the mic relayed the rules for the room. 

“Before we get started, I’d like to announce the winning bidders for our artist special choice. Each of these winners will be the artist's final canvas that’ll be shown by nights end. If you don’t claim your bid we’ll move onto the next winner. If the winning bidder has a change of heart we will request half the initial bid and move onto the next winner. First up, Cassandra with a bid of three thousand dollars Zoe Chace!”

The majority of the bar was focused on the runway stage as the next artist and someone announced their winner along with their higher bid amount. Kara was touching up one of the volunteers when her name was called. 

“Someone here truly appreciates our last artist and her additional efforts for helping to put this together. With ten thousand dollars-“

The sound of shattering glass ruptured the otherwise elated atmosphere. Followed by another and another, sending a majority of people towards the doors in a panic. 

“Everybody calm down!” Hank’s voice broke through the shouts, his psychic energy washing over everyone that could be affected in waves. Provocations from outside went out like taunts, challenging those inside. 

Kara was across the bar in a blink, pulling Cat back further from the rush of people. She had one arm wrapped back around Cat’s waist, using her own body as a shield in case something more came through. 

Security and agents were already on the move, headed to the front before the sound of shattering glass sounded from the back. 

“They’re inside!” Someone shouted, causing another rush of panic to fill the air which was further fueled with the shrill sound of the fire alarm. 

Hank tried to keep people calm along with M’gann while Alex and Susan headed for the back to deal with the threat there. Kara moved Cat along the wall, pushing her out the side door. She was on the verge of telling Cat to get someplace safe while she went back inside to help the others when Kara spun her around and wrapped her up. 

Impact after impact bombarded Kara’s back and along the walls sending paint everywhere.

“Go back to where you came from!”

Kara turned, keeping Cat behind her again as she let out a burst of air knocking the group off their feet as Cat grabbed her back and yanked the both of them back inside. 

The scene inside wasn’t much better, countless people huddled behind chairs and tables and even the bar as others engaged those who had made it inside. 

“Go!” Cat urged, breaking away. “I’ll be fine!” 

“Cat!”

“Do your job!” Cat commanded as she rounded behind the bar with a few others. 

Alex and Susan were fending people off, pushing them back through the rear entrance as the sound of sirens began to surround the building. Kara grabbed a table, rushing to the largest window to block it out for the exterior bombardment. 

“Hank! Clear the side!”

The man phased through the wall, his voice coming out over the comms a moment after signaling an all clear. 

Kara grabbed for a few people huddled around another table, pointing them to the side entrance. “It’s clear! Go!” 

She made her way through the bar, knocking a few of the inciters out of the way to keep the path clear as she sent more in that direction. 

“This is the National City Police Department!” Kara made a grab for one of the protestors only to be blinded by a spotlight.  

“I’ve cleared the side, all agents stand by, Danvers and Vasquez are coming to you with care packages. Get them out of here now.”

Kara stilled instantly as officers in full gear made their way inside, hands up to reduce her threat level. With her prone stance, the man she had grabbed turned to make and hit her square in the jaw. 

“Taser! Taser! Taser!” There was a crack of a sound followed by the repetitive clicking of the discharged weapon as the man dropped like a sack before ever touching her. 

An officer moved past the man, kicking Kara down to her knees before zip-tying her wrists. A shout of protest came from the bar as other officers shouted at those individuals to get down or join the man on the floor. 

Kara watched Cat get shoved to the floor along with the others she had been huddled down with before someone hauled Kara up and told her to move forward.


	3. Chapter 3

The sound of the cell door unlocking stirred both women into wakefulness. Kara was up first, easily dodging Cat’s legs as they swung over the bed. It was still early, or late depending on how one looked at it and unexpected, to say the least.

“Catherine Grant?”

Kara glanced over, offering a hand to the woman as she helped her down.

“Right here.”

“Lawyer’s here.”

“Finally, come on, let’s get out of this hellhole.” Cat offered as she moved forward with Kara right behind.

“Just you.” The officer pointed to the woman before looking at Kara. “You step back against the far wall, hands flat at your sides.”

Cat looked stunned while Kara hesitated for only a moment before complying.

“She’s with me,” Cat stated while the officer remained focused on Kara.

“Not according to your lawyer. Hands behind your back, thumbs linked, please.”

Cat glanced back at Kara who gave her a tight smile and a nod. “I’m okay.” She assured before Cat gave an incredulous breath of an exhale before placing her hands behind herself.

The officer took her arm gently, easing the door back shut and locking it before guiding Cat down the hall.

“Normally you would be in handcuffs but we were told to make an exception this once.”

“How kind” Cat muttered, moving along the hall towards the main area. “Where are the others?”

“What others?”

“That were brought in with us.”

“Special detainment,” the officer stated with a rougher edge. Cat glanced over noting the woman’s less than pleased disposition. “No telling what any of them are capable of and I’m not talking about the ones detained.”

Cat ground her teeth together, flexing the muscles of her jaw as she was lead around before being placed in a room.

“We’ll collect your things, have them ready to sign out once you’re done here.”

“Thank you.” Cat’s lawyer stated all too kindly as Cat sat down in a chair opposite the man. The officer nodded before closing the door, leaving the two in the small room.

“I got your message.”

Cat let out a small laugh, shaking her head. “Little late.”

“It’s the best I could do, what with having to clear the mob outside first. That group caused quite a stir, their sympathizers haven’t helped. Not sure how you got mixed up in it-“

“I was there to help.”

Her lawyer sat back, looking her over. “Tell me you’re joking.”

Cat rose a high brow at the man, tipping her head curiously. “What ‘mob’ did you help clear exactly?”

“The ICC and other pro-“

“Stop,” Cat growled, eyeing the younger man. “I should have taken your father’s warning more seriously.”

“Excuse me?”

“I kept you on when you took over your father’s practice despite his suggestions otherwise. I thought it was the cancer-“

“Cat you’re not making sense here.”

“Miss Grant.” She corrected.

The man looked confused for a moment wondering if perhaps the woman hadn’t been drugged or mishandled.

“Give me your phone.”

“What?”

“Give me, your phone. I need to make a call and I don’t want to use the landline here.”

The man dug into his coat, offering her his cell phone. Cat tapped out a number before hitting send. When no one answered she hung up and dialed again, repeating the process until she heard the other line pick up.

“Who is this?”

“Wake up Lane.” Cat heard the rustle and thud of the phone followed by a faint string of curses.

“Cat where are you?!”

“Never mind that. You still licensed in this state or did you give that up too?”

“I...it’s still good.”

“Fantastic. Here’s the situation, I’m in NCPD lockup, along with Miss Danvers.”

“Okay, how did you get a phone?”

“Borrowed it from appointed. Listen carefully. I am not leaving. Not until everyone, including those in special detainment, are released.”

“Special detainment? What-“

“You heard me. I want you on this.” Cat waited for that to sink in.

“Okay, first order?”

“I need you to contact my go-tos if you still remember them.”

“I remember.”

“Lane… every individual needs representation, especially those in that segregated group. Consider them under my umbrella. Understood?”

“You’re serious,” Lucy whispered, mostly to herself. She knew better than to question Cat’s tone, especially at this moment.

“Do you remember the date you and the others figured out who hacked my emails?”

“I think so?”

“Once you’re sure, head to _my_ bank, you know which. Ask for Jackson Killough and the red key. That date is the authorization code. Once you have the contents, ask me again if I’m serious.”

Cat hung up the phone, deleting the number, call record and her earlier text before handing it back.

“Officer!”

Confused as ever, her lawyer stood surprised and uncertain as Cat merely backed up against the nearest wall and put her hands flat against it near her hips. The same officer entered after another minute, looking at Cat, then the lawyer, and back again.

“Problem?”

“I have no idea-“

“This man is not my lawyer, he does not represent me, nor is he authorized to make any legal decisions on my behalf.”

“What?! Officer I can assure you-“

“This man is not my counsel,” Cat interrupted again. “Anything negotiated by him on my behalf has been done under false pretenses and I wish to return to my cell.”

The officer looked at the man then the woman assuming the proper position before calling for backup and another set of officers appeared almost instantly. The initial officer moved towards Cat while the other two moved towards the lawyer who proceeded to have a fit until the two men practically lifted him off the ground and out.

“You do understand he was going to walk you out of here, yes?”

“Yes, I do.” Cat replied. “However, that would have created an even larger incident for your department and I feel as if I’ve helped cause enough for one night. Why push it?”

The woman eyed Cat for a moment before taking her by the upper arm once more. Directing her back down the hall towards lock up.

“We turned surveillance off the moment he entered, did he try anything?” The officer's tone was cautious as someone buzzed them through the checkpoint.

“Anything beyond being a complete idiot? Not a chance.”

The officer hummed with a hint of amusement before requesting the unlock for Cat’s previous cell.

“Might have bought yourself another day with that you know.”

“I understand. In fact, I think I bought myself a lot more than that.”

The officer gestured for Cat to enter her cell before telling her good luck and closing the door behind her. Kara waited a few more seconds before standing from her bed looking even more confused than that excuse for a lawyer Cat had left behind.

“I thought you were-“

“Change of plan.”

“Change of plan? What plan?”

Cat neared Kara, causing the woman to straighten with her proximity. “Can you locate the others that were brought in?”

Kara tipped her head curiously with that whispered request. “I can try? Anything lead-“

“Will interfere, I know. Just try? The officer told me they were being held in special detainment?”

Kara let out a dark exhale with that, giving Cat a small nod before glancing around the room. “Watch the door.”

Cat nodded, watching Kara ascend her bunk before taking off her glasses as she stood close to the ceiling and looked around. There were blank spots where lead paint had been used and she figured that was the older part of the building. Kara moved her head slowly, narrowing in on sounds as the lead paint became patchy and thin until it was non-existent. Kara swore in her native tongue and while Cat couldn’t decipher it, the tone was unmistakable.

“How bad?”

Kara narrowed her eyes, scanning over the scene she was witness to before slowly lowering back onto the bunk properly and setting her glasses back in place.

“Kara?” Cat turned seeing the woman’s posture as she made her way over before putting her hands up. “Kara.”

The woman shook her head slightly, grabbing for Cat’s hands and effortlessly pulling her onto the bunk. Cat settled on her knees just beside Kara looking her over.

“How bad?”

“They’re all together.”

“But?”

Kara looked over, eyes red with emotion. Cat knew that look, and it was anything but one wrought from sadness.

“Tell me Kara please.”

“They’re chained to walls,” Kara uttered, her voice rough as she absently rubbed at her own throat. “Like animals in a pen. The officers there aren’t like the ones here. Different uniforms if you could call it that. They look ready for war.”

Cat gently moved Kara’s hair from the side of her face and tucked the strands behind her ear to see her better, taking in her words for a moment. “Private contractor has to be.” Cat leaned her shoulder into the wall thinking back. “A few months ago, at the investors meeting... a couple members of the board brought in a subcontractor. I turned them down because of their concept of in-sourcing.”

Exploitation was more the word, taking advantage of prisoners because they were behind bars, especially otherworldly ones for profit or tax breaks was something she didn’t want to touch with a fifty-foot pole.

“I have to get them out…”

Cat shifted her focus back to Kara with the conviction in her tone.

“I can break out of here, get what I need and be back before the second alarm bell.”

“No, Kara.” Cat scooted closer, feeling the tension building in the woman ahead of her. “We have to do this right.”

“What we Cat?” Kara looked back up through the walls. “I can stop this right now. I will not let them just-”

Cat’s hand against the flat of her chest stopped her silent. Her gaze dropping from the wall to the pressure against her, keeping her at bay.

“I know…” Cat flexed her fingers against Kara’s chest, ushering her further back until she was against the wall once more. “But this, what you’re seeing, what you want to stop, to change? It has to be done the right way…” Kara’s chest expanded further and further with each heavy breath under her hand.

“Why are you still here?” Kara ground out, side-eyeing the other woman. The pressure of her hand was oddly comforting, even knowing she could just sit up and move out from under it with no effort and no matter how hard Cat tried to keep her in place. Cat had an out, she wasn’t dumb, Cat had all manner of contingencies for just about every plausible and implausible scenario one could come up with.

And yet.

“I don’t have the kind of abilities you do Kara, but the things I do have providence over, I know how to wield well.”

“That doesn’t answer the question.”

Cat drew in a deep breath reaching up with her free hand to draw Kara’s glasses from her face. Kara turned her head with the motion, looking at Cat directly. Just as she had that night on Cat’s balcony when she claimed Kara as her guardian angel.

“I’m not leaving here without you.”

Cat felt Kara’s hand come to rest over her own, holding her in place. They lingered like that for a series of heartbeats before Kara’s eyes fell. Before she could take her next breath Cat moved, finding Kara halfway there with a sharp intake of a sound.

Kara’s lips were soft, pliant, yielding against her own. Full of want and promise carried over on the heat of her tongue as it swept across her lips as they met. Cat twisted Kara’s shirt in her hand, pulling her closer still until she drew a soft hum of a moan from Kara’s throat leaning back. Kara slid an arm around Cat’s waist, hugging and pulling until her weight pressed the other woman against the thin excuse of a mattress.

Cat’s legs submitted to Kara’s body, tucking around her sides and digging in against her hips to keep her there. Kara’s hand pushed her free arm up, wrapping it over their heads around the concrete edge. Cat pushed up with her hips, drawing another whimper of a sound into herself as she chased its origins with her tongue.  Kara dug her hips down roughly, earning a bite of teeth around her bottom lip and a broken groan from deep within Cat’s chest. Cat’s body registered the shift of Kara’s above her, the sharp pressure of Kara’s hip digging in mercilessly. Another whimper of noise broke between them as she clawed her hand around Kara’s back and dug in.

Cat pushed up harder as Kara rolled her hips against her in tight, trembling circles devouring every sound between them with each rounded motion. It was quick and rough around the edges, bordering on painful in the best way until her fist thumped hard against Kara’s back. Kara tugged her mouth free, burying her features into Cat’s neck as the woman panted and bit back other sounds she desperately wished to let out. When Kara dug her hips down one last time, she turned her features into the side of Kara’s head, letting the heady whine break against her ear with as much restraint as she could muster.

Arms wrapped around Cat’s frame, cradling the back of her head and holding her impossibly closer as her body trembled and closed in around Kara’s own. Kara breathed the other woman in, pressing a soft kiss against her throat before nosing up to her ear.

“Cat… I.. I’m so-“

“Don’t you dare,” Cat husked, holding Kara to her. “Please, don't apologize for this...”

Kara pushed up enough to try to look at the other woman before Cat felt her entire body tense. In a blink she was alone and her own body responded with equal melancholy at the abrupt absence until she heard a loud buzzer just as the door unlocked.

“Everyone up, breakfast is served.”

 

**\-------**

 

Lucy stood just outside the glass doors, briefcase in hand. She adjusted the line of her suit with the approach of security along with the bank’s resident manager. As they got closer she withdrew her credentials, putting them against the glass for the two individuals to verify.

“Thank you, Miss Lane.” The manager offered as security unlocked the door and allowed her entry. “We don’t normally open this early but when you called to explain the situation at hand, I felt it the sooner we get on this the better.”

“Thank you, again I apologize for the short notice but you can understand my adamance towards a swift course of action.”

“Absolutely, the last thing this city needs is its resident Queen locked up.”

Lucy glanced at the man with an amused expression before schooling her features and continuing onward. He led her past the main floor, through the lower executive offices before keying in a code on the elevator pad.

“Just to make you aware, your cell phone will need to be placed in our containment box once we continue beyond a certain point on the lower floor. Security will hand it back or contact you through the intercom should it ring.”

“Not expecting any but with Miss Grant, one never can tell.”

The man chuckled as he and the security officer inserted keys into the side panels of the elevator and turned on a three count. “Mister Killough is already waiting for you.”

Lucy nodded with a quiet thank you, letting out a settling breath as the elevator descended. When they arrived Lucy noticed the man just inside the small waiting area as he adjusted his tie before turning to greet them, starting with her.

“Miss Lane.” He offered shaking her hand firmly and equally impressed with the return. “I wish we were meeting under better circumstances, I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“Likewise, although I would say with Miss Grant, it’s to be expected we would meet in this manner.” The older man smirked with a nod before she looked to the bank manager. “I take it you have the red key?”

“If you’ll both follow me.” The man offered, headed towards a wall of small lockboxes. He took the time to locate the proper one before keying in his own code. There was a small click of a sound as the door opened and it offered a smaller lock box out.

“Sign here.” The security officer offered a small clipboard, to which Lucy filled in the proper fields before looking back to the manager.

“Authorization code can only be entered one time if it fails it will revert to the master code which will require Miss Grant to physically be here to unlock.”

Lucy rose an eyebrow at that, swallowing thickly before she gave a small nod. “Understood.” While internally her voice told her repeatedly not to fuck it up. She drew in a deep breath, setting her briefcase down as the manager withdrew the smaller lockbox and set it on a nearby stand. The top of the box held another recessed keypad the bank manager designated for Lucy to proceed with.  

Lucy had scoured all her notes concerning Cat’s email hack, nearly over a year ago now and was beyond grateful she was so studious in her own record keeping. Her hand hovered over the keypad for only a moment before she dialed in the numbers and hit the green button.  There was a small series of beeps as the pad turned red before holding out a sustained note and flipping green. The lid popped open a second after, revealing a set of color-coded keys set inside a foam holder.

Lucy reached in, withdrawing the red ended key while the manager secured the small lockbox once more and set it back into place within the wall.  Lucy looked over the key, glancing towards Mr. Killough who merely gave a small shrug before her attention shifted to the manager.

“What is the designation on the head of the key if you please?” Lucy turned the key over, reading the alphanumeric etching to the man who nodded. “If you’ll follow me down the hall here, we ask you to place your cell phones within their own pouches and seal them before dropping them into the containers, security will return them to you once we’re done. Any other electronic devices should also be logged with security and left behind, and if you have any medical devices now would be the time to let us know so we can take precautions against nullifying it.”

Lucy and Jackson both looked at one another before turning back to the manager. “I’m good.” Lucy offered, reaching into the side of her briefcase to grab a pen and paper, leaving the rest with security after confirming the lock was set.

“If I’ve got anything in here, I’m completely unaware of it so you should nullify it.” Killough offered, relinquishing his own attaché to security as well just for precautionary sake.

“Once we pass through the door, you will experience a bit of pressure and a small hum before it allows us on the other side. Once inside, I will direct you to the designated area and leave you both to it. There is an intercom system within the vault itself, along with another panel that will allow you to notify security and me when you are finished.”

“Thank you?”

The manager nodded before he and the security officer again synchronized keys to unlock the curved steel along the wall that granted them all entry into another section of the lower vaults. As promised there was a kind of vacuum of pressure, followed by a faint buzzing sound before the other side opened up to them and the manager led them to their destination and opened the already unlocked vault door.

The two of them stepped inside, surrounded by all manner of other lock boxes and various and sundry items. The manager shut the door behind them, and the glass immediately went opaque as the lock sealed.

“This is ridiculous.” Lucy finally stated as a small bought of a laugh escaped her companion. “I mean what is all this?”

“Security for the rich and famous.” Jackson supplied, taking in the small room which felt more like a storage locker versus some kind of clandestine vault. “I know they can be eccentric-”

“This is more than eccentric.” Lucy allowed, looking to the key once more as she stepped over to a large table in the center of the room looking for any kind of correlation until she realized the table itself had a lock under the lip on the opposite side. “Really need to work with her on being more specific with her instructions.”  

“This is Cat we’re talking about, I’ve known her far longer than you have.” Jackson offered, watching her carefully as Lucy put the key into the table and turned the lock.

There was the sound of a snapping spring, followed by automated pistons and a whirl of gears before the table split apart and then dropped along the opposite sides. Recessed in the table were a plethora of file folders and envelopes each with Cat’s designated handwriting scrawled across each one for a different set of circumstances.

“When the hell does she have the time for all this?” Lucy questioned, her eyes scanning over the objects laid out in front of her.

“You’d be surprised.” Jackson offered as the woman looked up at him. “Holiday weekend, late hours,” he gave a small shrug. “They don’t have to spend time on worrying about the things the rest of us do,” he gestured to the table in front of them both. “This happens.”

Lucy shook her head, her eye stopping on a file near the middle, her eyebrow nearly touching her hairline as she read the tab. _‘In the event of my incarceration.’_ Without pause, Lucy grabbed for the file. “Christ, it has addenda.”

Jackson reached in after her, making sure nothing spilled out of the larger than expected file while he grabbed the smaller file folders beneath it. Lucy turned the key back, putting the table back in place properly so she could set the files down and attempt to figure out what the hell Cat wanted her to be so sure of.

“Now I know why some of this stuff is in here.” Jackson moved aside, grabbing two chairs along the far wall before bringing them over, offering one to Lucy before he moved around to settle across from her.

“I’m not sure if I should be worried or impressed. Who pre-plans for being incarcerated-”

Jackson smirked, laying out each addendum while Lucy handled the main file. “Not enough people honestly.” His brow furrowed as he read some of the labels. “At least with her amount of money.”

Lucy unsealed the main file, setting out the three small envelopes before setting the file open as she glanced over the instructions.

“This is all recently updated.” Lucy murmured, picking up the first envelope that read CatCo across the top. She undid the seal, pulling out a set of keys and a folded writ looking over it more thoroughly.  “Holy shit.”

“Something interesting?”

“Extremely.” Lucy looked over the document, its main page outlining an interim of positions starting with Cat’s own position as CEO. Lucy felt her chest tighten when she was over Kara’s name as initial interim, followed by James Olsen should she also be detained, unavailable or declined.

“I think this may go along with that.” Jackson offered up another envelope that Lucy traded the writ for him to review.

_‘Multiple Individuals Seized or Detained’_

“How in the world…” Lucy said again, breaking the seal before drawing out another series of writs. Each accounting for different circumstances and contingencies in the event of some kind of mass detainment. She scanned over the document at length the corner of her mouth lifting unbidden as she continued to read. “That fucking woman.”

“What is it?”

Lucy looked up then before laying down each writ. “Funds, assets, liquidations; all of these are to be used for legal defense in set stages. If the funds here run out, then we move to the next outlined set of options. She’s listed you, me and a few others as main counsel, designated interim positions, power of attorney, guardianship of Carter, employee records handling, it goes on and on.”

Jackson looked over the documents, verifying signatures and notary stamps along with dates and other mandated courses of action.

“It’s like she knew something like this was coming or would or-”

“Cat can be very protective, always has been. She’s like her father that way.” Jackson folded up each writ, setting them back into their envelopes before looking up at Lucy. “What now?”

“Cat said she wasn’t leaving, not without the rest. That all those other people taken in with her were under special detainment.”

Jackson rubbed at the lower half of his face a moment before giving a slow series of nods. “We need to get out of here.”

Lucy nodded, gathering the files and securing them back into the main folder as the man crossed the room towards the panel, pushing the button for security before requesting to be escorted back out.

“How many were detained?”

“Thirteen, not counting Kara Danvers or Cat.”

“Miss Danvers and Cat we can handle today, the others-”

“She’s not leaving.”

“She may not have the choice, this is going to go viral in an instant.”

“That’s her point. Refusing to walk free if they can’t. The amnesty act is supposed to be on their side, equal rights, equal freedoms, and special detainment sounds nothing like equal to me.”

Jackson was already making a list in his mind of people he wanted to bring in on this. “When we get back out, I’m going to give you my card, send me the list of individuals Cat’s designated, I’ll get them started. When you can send me a copy of those writs, the ones for the defense designation, the corporate outlines you can handle until I can get everyone together for you. Securing CatCo and her family are utmost, the rest we have to strategize on.”

Lucy nodded, thankful she wasn’t going at this alone. “I can get more insight into the other detainees, I was already brought in on them prior to now. With all this, it’ll be a lot easier to speed that process up.”

“Good, and Miss Lane?”

“Yes?”

“Get ready.”

“For what?”

“No matter which way this goes, people are going to read about you in textbooks after.”


	4. Chapter 4

“Ok, wait…” Alex actually laughed, breathless and unbidden. Everything Lucy was outlining was positively absurd. This wasn’t Cat Grant, was it? “Are we sure she hasn’t been like, body swapped or-“

“Alex!”

“No, wait now. Cat hasn’t exactly been on Supergirl’s best side here if you read some of her articles. Don’t get me wrong, I know she’s an advocate for her but-“

“Ever heard of a performance review?”

Alex cut her eyes over to Lucy and raised an eyebrow at her.

“Would you have improved if anyone above you showered you with sunshine and rainbows for the things you did without going over the things you either didn’t or could have done better?”

“What’re you getting at Lane?”

“Cat knows.”

The straightened Alex and Hank right up.

“She hasn’t confirmed it, but,” Lucy fanned her hand over all the documents laid out on the war room table between them. “She’s not dumb.”

“I would think Cat would be the first one-“

“Said the same thing about Lois,” Lucy argued as Alex put her hands on her hips.

“Lois isn’t exactly Cat here.”

“No, she’s not, Lois couldn’t do this. She might try if she had the resources, but this is a level well above my sister any day.”

“So you think Cat knows, on her own or?”

“Because Kara told her? I don’t know, I’m inclined to say the former. I mean look at all this, when I walked into HR at CatCo they pulled these out of a hidden lockbox in the floor Alex.”

“Maybe I was a little misguided in not approaching her sooner.” Hank offered, looking over another CatCo employee file.

“Sooner for what?”

Hank looked over at the two women with the same thought giving them both a small smile. “When your sister finally put on her cape, given how well Lois seemed to handle everything with Superman. I considered bringing Miss Grant into the fold, silently of course. Need to know only. For Kara’s sake, but also for her reach and resources.”

“I’m in the twilight zone,” Alex muttered looking over the scatter of papers.

“She’s been at this a while.” Lucy offered, seeing former employee files and a few others Cat had designated for further research on her own. “When was Kara hired again?”

“Summer of twenty thirteen, I think.”

“I think Kara helped.”

“How so?”

“Prior to last year, there’s a handful of files, with Kara as a reference or the initial interviewer.” Lucy moved those files aside, arranging others ahead of it. “Starting from here, October twenty fifteen… the number starts to grow, only Kara’s not on as many.”

Lucy moved a larger pile over then. “These, happened after the Amnesty Act was announced... all of them. It barely mentions Kara beyond setting new hires up if HR placed them on the upper floors.”

“Meaning what exactly?”

“I think Kara started it, got a little bolder when she came out. Then I think Cat took it over. There’s a change in HR personnel, she started handling them shortly after Supergirl showed up after the thing with the president, she was given a specialty position and put in charge of it afterward, by Cat.”

“Is she running some kind of illegal-“

“No, no. Well, technically if you consider each one before the act, and anyone who didn’t validate their citizenship after is illegal. Then ok yes but, she was paying them properly, gave them benefits and everything.”

“So this is all because she figured she would eventually be raided?”

“Maybe, if the act ever got overridden, why not?”

“How does this help us now?” Hank questioned looking at both of them.

“It gives us limitless funds for one, which, if done right, could be channeled through the ICC. I’m going to assume that’s the best option instead of privately funded by a single individual. As for the rest, it gives us a little insight into a few of the detainees, at least half are in one of these files. The rest-“

“You gotta see this!” Winn burst into the room, taking over the main screen as he keyed in a couple of commands at lightning speed before the projector size screen along the back wall came up.

“I am here to represent those who have been unlawfully detained by the National City Police Department. These are law-abiding citizens, minding their own business when they were attacked.”

“Isn’t that Cat’s-“

“These four men and two women are members of the community. They pay their taxes, do their jobs and had every right to defend themselves against these unlawful alien invaders.”

“Nope.” Lucy offered, crossing her arms over her chest as she watched the live feed just outside police headquarters. “I’m betting that’s who she fired.”

“Mister Ellison, Mister Ellison!”

“Yes you, from the Star.”

“Are you no longer CatCo’s legal counsel? Is Cat Grant behind your change in defense tactics?”

“Ladies and gentlemen, I have indeed resigned my position for a greater cause. Having discovered the targeted acts of this group, some of whom are or were CatCo employees. I could not stand idly by.”

“That piece of shit.”

“Lucy!”

The press went into another frenzy as Ellison was nudged aside as all cameras and reporters focused in on the large group of well suited older gentlemen emerging from the main doors. They shouted the names of each high-end celebrity lawyer out until Jackson Killough raised his hands and stepped forward.

“I have a statement here from Miss Grant, and those that are being unlawfully detained by a private corporation overseen by LuthorCorp who are denying the basic rights afforded to them as citizens of our country.”

“Oh, shit…” Alex muttered as she squared up to watch.

“We have been denied the right, our legal right, to speak with our clients, the twelve individuals who have been restrained and segregated beyond the reach of the highly trained and capable officers of the NCPD. Despite the presidentially enacted order that all citizens seeking refuge from other worlds are to be granted equal rights under the law as free and natural citizens.

Miss Grant has stated, she nor her similarly detained human employee will accept any judgment, order or legal agreement with the courts to be set free until everyone, including those who conspired to incite violence and mayhem against this city, one of its businesses, and its citizens, can also step foot on free soil again.

Despite our arguments against such actions Miss Grant wishes to bring further attention to the treatment and inhumanity of the situation not just here in National City but undoubtedly all across our great nation. In response to these actions, I can state that myself and my colleagues here will represent everyone who is detained, either from last night’s events or prior to pro bono. This is thanks in part to the gracious cooperation of the Intergalactic Citizens Coalition despite being targeted last night, and additional civil rights partnership organizations.”

“Damn he’s fast,” Lucy uttered, pulling the others' attention. “What? I met with him this morning about-” she gestured to the screen, “-this.”

Hank looked beyond her through the glass partitions, noting how many agents were watching along with them or on some other screen before turning back to the scene in front of him.

“Leave it to Cat to have Boies, Clooney, and Garbus on speed-dial,” Lucy deadpanned. “Before you know it Gloria Allred will call.”

“What exactly are we doing if they’re doing all that?”

“Getting them information on the ones kept in segregation. That name drop wasn’t by accident.”

“LuthorCorp means-“

“Lex Luthor.” Hank finished, letting out a dark sigh. “He’s still in max-sec.”

“So is his mother and his cousin, I thought his sister had taken it over, was working on reforming-“

“She is, was, still is.” Alex offered. “They have multiple branches, her changes are being made here and in Metropolis but clearly someone didn’t get the memo.”

“Or she didn’t, and this is about to be a PR nightmare for CatCo and Lena.”

“You don’t think she’s behind it?” Hank questioned glancing over at Alex.

“No, but I know they have kept a lot from her. Lex and Lillian have plenty still loyal to them. This could be one of those oversights. Can’t change things you don’t know about. She’s only just taken over.”

Lucy glanced over at Alex and her defensive angle before looking back down at the files laid out in front of them.

“Winn, how fast-“

“On it.”

“You don’t even know what I was going to ask?”

“Subcontractors still getting funds from LuthorCorp?”

“Okay… carry on.”

Hank chuckled gently while Alex turned over another file.

“Alex how close are you to Lena?”

Alex glanced up, giving a small shrug. “We’re not drinking buddies or anything.”

“Enough to get into her office and meet with her?”

“Maybe.”

“Maybe... see if you can’t get a meeting with her, figure out her position on all this?”

Alex nodded, closing the file before making her way out.

“I’m going to make a few calls, one of which I am already not looking forward to.” Hank offered.

“Which one?”

“The one involving the President.”

 

 **\-------**  


Kara was laid out on her bed, her mind still going over various scenarios of how she could get to the other detention area somehow. Cat had been taken out of their cell again, with the promise she would be back soon enough. Which had only left Kara and her mind to wander about. It didn’t help that she could hear just about everything through the walls from the officers on duty to other jail bound inmates awaiting trial or just sitting it out. If she pushed she could hear the other detainees and their hushed voices and otherworldly languages trying to determine what would happen to them.

It was enough to drive her insane.

She pushed up from the bed after another minute, narrowing down her senses to just the room she was in as she set her head in her hands and closed her eyes. Her intention had been to meditate, to find proper focus so she could do some good and genuinely try to help Cat and whatever her plan was. That was still something the other woman hadn’t shared with her. In fact, the two of them had shared very little since breakfast.

Despite her usual fervor involving her favorite meal of the day, she hadn’t been able to muster up the appetite. Giving up the contents of her tray to Cat, who also lacked in the appetite department. Although she had eaten more than Kara and drank half her juice for the added sugars, she would need to get her through the rest of the day.

A part of her had been too hyper-focused on what had happened just before someone unlocked their cell. The way Cat’s body felt pressed against her own, the thunder of her heart beating against Kara’s ribs, the way her very insides quaked all because of Kara. She’d be lying if she said she hadn’t thought about it, maybe had a dream or two she wouldn’t dare admit. Being the living embodiment of some kind of lesbian pulp novel wasn’t exactly the intent she had been aiming for. Definitely not for any kind of first time or kiss or-

Kara let out a frustrated groan, picking herself up off the bed as she set her glasses aside. She needed to get her mind settled or whenever Cat’s plan really came together, whatever it was, she’d be utterly useless. Kara pulled her hair back into a mess of a bun, pushing her sleeves up as she rolled her shoulders and bounced about a little. Whenever she felt like this, scattered and frustrated, she would head to the D.E.O. either to find Alex and spar or hole up in the training area if she wasn’t available.

This room was smaller and she couldn’t exactly explain away any damage she inflicted which meant she’d have to concentrate a little more than usual. Kara drew in a slow, steady breath, pushing through the layers of her humanity down to her Kryptonian core. Or at least that was the intention. Her sense memory was still overwhelmed from the brief, and in her mind, poorly set intimate moment with Cat.

That was evidenced enough when she made her first motions towards a phantom opponent and caught the metal edge of the bunk ladder warping the straight line of it. She swore in her native tongue before pulling back a step to start again. This time she focused her mind, not on Cat but those in the detainment area yards away.

As she came around again, she missed the ladder by a breath, pulling up at the last second so that only a small corner of concrete serving as Cat’s bed broke away. She sighed at herself then, realizing the space was too limiting for her current state and instead shook her hands out and bounced on the balls of her feet once more.

‘Wear yourself out’ she thought while another voice supplied just how she could attempt that with Cat. “By Rao just focus Kara… stop thinking and just focus.”

She repeated the words in her head whittling the mantra down to the first two words before she started again. This time she kept her limbs closer to her body, defending herself against her visualized phantom instead of attacking. Her movements were short, favoring quick bursts of motion in tightly controlled segments instead of the broader sweeping arcs she had attempted before.

Kara continued her mantra until even that repeated in her head without effort in her native tongue. She drew on the surrounding gravity, keeping herself grounded as if she were back on Krypton, devoid of her abilities, turning her focus to her own physical self. She forced every motion, pushing her body and its limits, stretching every tendon, engaging every ounce of muscle until she could feel them burn and protest.

The small space faded from her awareness, replaced with the caves she remembered from when she was younger, near Kandor. Despite each combative movement she never made more than a whisper of contact with the objects around her, remembering how sharp and jagged those cave walls had been. Despite the growing ache in her body and the protest of muscles she hadn’t used in a while, she pushed through.

Each movement was simple despite its outward complexity, drawing on her reserves until she moved on instinct instead of emotion. Kara moved like the warrior her Aunt had initially trained her to be. Peeling the layers of her earthly facade until they held no sway over her and instead fell into proper alignment with her Kryptonian core; her mind clear and the protests of her body forgotten.

Cat was led back into her cell, and while the officer hesitated, Cat assured them she would be fine despite the current actions of her cellmate. The resounding lock of the door pulled Kara’s attention inadvertently, her entire body coming around only to stop a breath away from Cat’s solar plexus. The barest pressure of her fingertips whispering across the flat panel as Cat remained stock-still.

Kara breathed hard and heavy, her fingers immediately curling into a fist before she squared her stance and her awareness flooded back into her body with a renewed sense of self. She grabbed for the top bunk on instinct with her body’s response, stepping back further as Cat stared at her.

The two looked at one another for countless seconds, even if it felt like eons stretching between them. Cat’s aura was vivid and alive, far more vibrant than Kara had recalled. With a thought, her vision shifted spectrums, and she cleared her throat gently.

“Are you all right?” Kara questioned, absently bending the ladder back into place before stepping towards the sink for some water.

Cat stepped forward slowly, her hand grabbing for her own bunk while the other pressed against her solar plexus where she rubbed the heel of her hand against the sensation still radiating across her skin.

“F-fine, I’m… did you turn the heat on or something?” Cat watched Kara’s back as she bent over the metal sink, the thin of her shirt material showcasing every contour of muscle she didn’t even know Kara possessed. The fact the center of her back and across her shoulders were practically see-thru didn’t help matters either.

In fact, a vast majority of the woman’s shirt was soaked through and there was a gradually expanding darkening of those sweatpants as well. She studied Kara carefully, something had changed, but she wasn’t sure what or how.

“I don’t think we control that,” Kara stated, running water over her face to try to cool herself down. She knew the reason the space was warmer, she must’ve increased her body temperature during her session, and with it the room. “Not the way you’re thinking.”

Cat was plenty thankful Kara had no idea what she was thinking as her gaze tracked over the woman’s frame, mind still trying to determine what had happened in the time she had been out of their room. Kara let out a breath, keeping her back to the other woman on purpose as she patted her face.

“So you _do_ sweat,” Cat observed aloud, seeing those muscles along Kara’s shoulders tense again.

Kara studied the wall for a solid ten count, biting at her bottom lip as she set her hands along the sink. “Is it too warm?”

Cat drifted closer before sitting against the small edge of a shelf built into the wall as she crossed her arms over her chest. They hadn’t really talked since the night before and Cat wasn’t even sure what to say about this morning. As she glanced at Kara’s frame again, she couldn’t deny the electricity of arousal that struck at her insides before looking away.

“It’s… manageable.” Cat lied watching Kara shift her weight with a small sigh dropping her head with a kind of resignation.

Kara flexed her fingers around the basin before willing herself to turn and look at the other woman. The corner of her mouth lifted all on its own as Cat busied herself with something else, gaze lingering anywhere but where Kara stood. She swallowed thickly, reminding herself that they were both adults and sometimes intense situations just manifested into certain expressions of-

“Close your eyes,” Kara whispered, her breath catching when Cat turned her attention back to her. Cat’s eyebrow quirked at her curiously before she lowered her gaze across Kara’s body under the guise of complying with the woman’s request.

Kara glanced at the door, not seeing anyone nearby before she knelt in front of Cat who let her arms relax into her lap. She pulled in a slow, full breath, tipping her head back before forcing the air out. Cat tensed at first, feeling the featherlight touches across her cheeks, the fading weight against her lashes and finally the icy whispers across her palms as Kara gently turned her hands over.

Kara pulled in another breath, sending another wave of frigid air above them both before forcing the last of it out in a rush.

“Open…”

Cat did so slowly, feeling the warmth of Kara’s hands beneath her own even if she wasn’t in her eye line. A soft oh of a sound escaped her as literal snowflakes fell all around her, instantly melting on contact. Kara puffed out another wave of frigid air along the ground, rounding up beside Cat only to send another sharp burst of ice crystals into the air once more.

Cat’s laugh was breathless, her expression etched with wonder as she watched the snowfall. Already the room was cooler, even if the view she settled on ensured her body was not. Kara pushed to a stand after another second, sending a final swirl of snow around before moving across the small room, her back again set to Cat.

With Cat involved in Kara’s little wintery display, Kara reached behind herself, pulling her shirt up, along with her sports bra and finally off. Bunching the two up before tossing them aside where the officer had designated earlier when a change of clothes had been provided to them. She sent another, less frigid wave of air down her torso cooling her own body temperature that last bit as she shrugged into a clean bra. Her hand curling around a new shirt until the barest touch at her mid-back froze her in place.

Cat’s self-awareness slammed her back into her own body with her actions as if someone had shot her from a canon while Kara looked over her shoulder at her. She hadn’t even registered her own movement across the space, much less having reached out to touch the other woman.

“I’m sorry, I should have asked before just-” In her haste to step back Cat tripped herself up, already feeling gravity take hold until Kara’s hands were against her back defying it. She grabbed for whatever she could, hands grabbing at Kara’s bare arms, fingers tight around the flex of muscle as Kara slowly brought her back upright.

“Don’t apologize,” Kara whispered, echoing Cat’s much earlier sentiment as she let the woman go but didn’t step back as Cat was still holding on.

“You’re always in so many layers.” Cat breathed, wondering why Kara hadn’t moved until she realized she had her hands still wrapped around her biceps. She let go after another instant while Kara remained poised to catch her again if need be.

“Should I not be?”

Cat looked up at Kara with a knowing glare, half-hearted as it was. That was a loaded question, especially right now. Wherever this little bout of confidence had come from Cat wasn’t exactly opposed, but she wasn’t about to let Kara get away with being so puckish. “Seems like a shame not to show some of that hard work off.”

Kara stepped back, impressed with how Cat maintained eye contact with her. “Maybe I don’t want to show it off to just anyone.”

Cat watched as Kara picked her shirt up from where she dropped it, fitting her arms through the sleeves before thumbing the neckline in order to pull it over her head.

“Can I-” Cat’s mind screamed at her even if she stayed relatively silent. Kara’s brow quirked, even as she fit the neckline over her head but didn’t pull the material down just yet.

“Can you… what?”

Cat took another step back, fingers curling into her palms as she shook her head slightly, fighting not to look down. Arguing that the contours of muscle she caught in her periphery along the plains of Kara’s bare midsection were enough. Like she had argued last night was enough, even if all it really had accomplished was to light a fuse that was eagerly burning down.

Kara studied Cat for another minute, drawing the folds of her shirt down a second after. “Can I ask you something?”

“Okay.”

“Are you going to let me in on this plan of yours?” Kara pulled at the ties of her pants, provoking Cat to finally glance down with the motion before turning her head and essentially her entire body once she realized the silent implication of Kara’s actions. “Or just leave me in the dark until it’s convenient?”

Kara had asked the question in order to distract. To occupy her mind while Kara finished changing without having to ask Cat to turn around. Cat cleared her throat softly, her brow furrowing at the slight warp of her bunk ladder that hadn’t been there before.

“How opposed are you to staying here?”

“That’s a heavy-handed question Cat. The longer I’m here, the longer people out there are without Supergirl.”

Cat felt that statement down to her core, in all of her dealings she had lost sight of that little fact. She reached forward, fingers drifting into the grooves made by Kara’s own in the steel. “Then I might have to renegotiate some terms.”

“Terms? What terms?”

“The ones where we agree to stay until everyone else gets out.”

“You what?” Kara crossed the room, ducking under Cat’s frame to look at her. The sudden nearness of the woman threw Cat off balance again, forcing her hand to tighten around the ladder while Kara grabbed for her waist to keep her steady.

Kara sat on her bed, Cat pressing against her knee before she let go of the woman’s waistband.

“What you told me you saw, how those other people are being treated like animals. We would already be out while they have to endure that. Some of them are my people, our people. I’m not just going to pretend it’s not happening, or that they’ll get a fair shot and be right on our heels Kara.”

Kara felt the urge to rise up and kiss the woman in front of her for a whole other set of reasons with her vehemence. Kara knew at least half of those that had been detained were CatCo employees. Cat’s claim to them as her own was something she hadn’t been expecting, nor her current level of protest to buck the system that held her high above that entire group combined.

Cat swallowed heavily, threads of tension tightening between the both of them. She gravitated towards Kara on instinct before pulling back and stepping away.

“I can get you out,” Cat argued, at herself mostly, hands wrapping around her hips so they didn’t wrap around Kara’s instead as she started to pace. “Maybe not today but by morning-“

“I’m not leaving without you.”

Cat stopped on a pivot, looking at the other woman who again echoed her own words back at her. Of all the times and all the places, this had to be the one. Where she was loath to follow through on any feeling or emotion Kara pulled out of her despite the want to just dive right in and to hell with the consequences.

“If anyone out there figures out you’re in here-“

“They won’t. If they do, it will be taken care of.”

“You don’t know that.” Cat started to move again coming up short with the wall that was Kara’s body suddenly in front of her. While Cat didn’t back up, she settled her gaze on the other woman. “You don’t.”

“I have to have faith.” Kara pushed her shoulders back absently, not moving aside or looking away. “In the people out there that I trust. Just like you.” A hand pressed against Kara’s sternum, fingers fanning out as it settled firmly where her crest would reside.

“I’m sorry,” Cat began, looking ahead at her own hand. “I didn’t think enough ahead, or give you a say-“

“Something like this,” Kara reached up, fingertips barely touching the swell of Cat’s bottom lip wishing they were anywhere but where they were so she could do this properly. “Easily forgivable...”

Cat’s lips parted breathlessly, her fingers pressing into Kara’s chest with the touch at her mouth. Kara ran her thumb across the soft swell, the aching look in her eyes nearly doubling as Cat lifted her own up.

“Someone’s coming.”

Cat moved first, her hand curling away and as she walked forward Kara twisted aside and sat on her bunk perfectly in sync.

The door lock sounded, before the officer from before appeared. “Kara Danvers, visitation. Catherine Grant, showers. Accept or decline?”

Kara glanced over at Cat as she turned to look at the door. Kara tapped at her ear watching Cat’s eyes narrow before she gave a small nod.

“Accept.”

Kara looked at the officer then repeating the phrase.

“Grant, please stand against a wall. Danvers, back to your bunk, hands in front, thumbs out.”

The women did as they were told as a second officer stepped inside and handcuffed Kara before guiding her ahead and out.

“Grant, take your items, keep them in front of you at all times. Per your lawyer's instructions, you will have twenty minutes with no other contact aside from me. Understood?”

“Yes.”

“Move ahead please.”

They led Kara down through the checkpoints and into a visitation area with ballistic partitions, nearly stumbling when she saw her mother sitting in a stall.

“You have fifteen minutes.”

“Thank you.”

Kara stared straight ahead after picking up the phone.

“This is unexpected.” Kara swallowed the rising stone in her throat, wishing it was actually Alura in front of her and not J’onn.

“Wish it were under different circumstances.”

“Me too.”

Faux Alura put her hand against the partition, urging Kara to mirror the action.

“Figured you could use a friendly voice.”

No sooner than they spoke the words, Kara felt the pressure of a small device against her palm. She gave a small nod, curling her hand away and adjusting her hold on the phone as the earwig slid down her sleeve.


	5. Chapter 5

Kara waited for the door to close and lock again before casually moving to her bunk. Waiting a few more moments just in case before fishing the earwig out of her sleeve and putting it into place.

“I’m here.”

“Finally,” Lucy’s voice sounded in her ear and Kara let out a small sigh of relief. “How you holding up in there?”

“I feel like a kid in a cardboard fort that doesn’t want to play this game anymore.”

“That’s... oddly accurate.”

“Except I have to.”

“We’re working on getting you out, and the rest.”

“How long?”

“Not sure, Cat’s started a shit storm out here.”

“You can’t be surprised.” Kara whispered, looking through the door just in case.

“On a small scale no, but thanks to her political ties and how this should really be deferred to the DEO, now the President is involved. Or will be. She’s got a press conference this evening about it. She’s arriving here in a few hours to debrief.”

Kara swore under her breath. “How complicated are we talking?”

“Let’s just say a few more cities are joining in.”

Kara rubbed at her face, lying back on her bunk. “What happens if-“

“Your cousin called, he’s around if needed, and J’onn’s willing to put on the skirt again to save face if need be on your behalf.”

Kara couldn’t help but chuckle just a little at that. “You think he’s going to have to come here, Superman I mean.”

“It’s possible they’re both going to be needed at that presser. Unified front and all that. But hey, it only solidifies your dual identity, so bonus.”

“Lucy, what’s going on in here… it’s not-“

“I know, trust me. I don’t know how Cat’s managed it but CatCo’s running an exclusive on a loop right now.”

“What do you mean?”

“Have you been out of your cell?”

“Just now. Cat’s been out more than me, she’s not here now.”

“Well, Cat’s been busy and persuasive. There’s a video of that detention center, looks like a body cam. They obscured the voices, but the footage isn’t.”

Kara chewed on her bottom lip, going over in her mind who Cat might’ve come in contact with that would’ve taken her up on any deal she offered for something like that.

“Thing is, after CatCo ran it… they started getting more.”

“More what, video?”

“Video, audio, pictures… there’s even a few NCPD officers speaking out about it. When I say Cat started a shit storm, I mean it. This thing is going viral.”

Kara couldn’t help but smile, her chest swelling with pride at the whole of Cat being at the center of it all. “Good.”

“Let’s hope. This could turn on a dime.”

“Someone’s coming.”

“All right, we’re monitoring but only as long as you keep that thing in. Anything changes let us know. Oh, and tell Cat I used the key.”

“Okay…”

Someone allowed Cat back in, a towel still around her shoulders to soak up the wetness of her hair. She thanked the officer graciously, more so than Kara thought she should have when Lucy’s words clicked into place.

“We are going to a spa for a week after this.” Cat stated, moving over to the sink as she pulled the towel free and started the water. Kara sat up after another minute watching Cat before drifting over.

“Want some help?”

Cat was at an odd angle, the soap wasn’t completely out of her hair given the slight lather circling the drain. “Not sure how you can accomplish that unless you have some water ability I don’t know about.”

“No, just a lot of stamina.”

Cat rose a sharp eyebrow at the other woman who merely waited for permission.

“Okay.”

Kara nudged Cat over a little while the woman held her hair over the sink before pressing herself against the wall and beside the stainless steel pillar before sliding down enough so as to appear as if she were sitting in a chair.

“You expect me to sit on your lap?”

“It’s either that or try to half sit on the toilet there.”

Cat shifted her jaw slightly as Kara waited.

“Just walk around and pretend it’s one of those salon chairs.” Kara patted her outer thigh. “Sit here and lean back.”

The woman eyed her for another minute before holding her hair up as she stepped around and made to sit.

“I’m going to support your back and head so just, relax.”

As Kara’s hand settled on her mid-back that one word seemed like the most impossible thing to do. She shifted a little on the shelf of muscle that was Kara’s thigh before letting out a breath and leaning back. Kara did as promised, letting her hand smooth up Cat’s back as she guided her towards the sink, fingers threading through Cat’s soaked lengths to cradle her head.

“Close your eyes and try to relax.” Kara breathed, watching Cat struggle with the request for a second before huffing out a breath and closing her eyes.

Kara shifted her weight enough to support Cat comfortably and move at the same time. She turned the water on as far as it would go, using her heat vision at a much lower frequency to warm it up. The goosebumps and restrained shivering that Cat had been trying to hide were easy to register.

As the water warmed, she felt the other woman start to relax, the slight tremors of her frame smoothing out as Kara cupped water into her free hand and poured it over Cat’s hairline. The fingers of her other hand moved gently, kneading and rubbing along Cat’s scalp as she cleared the soap from her hair.

Cat let out a deep breath after another minute, her body completely giving in to the warm water and tender motions along her head and neck. While Kara continued to heat the water and smooth it through until it ran clear. Kara quietly turned off the water, gently wringing out Cat’s hair before holding her up from the sink.

“Hold on,” she whispered, folding the towel under Cat’s neck before easing her other hand out. The other woman could only reply with a hum of agreement as Kara bent forward with a deep breath, gathering Cat’s hair into her hands before blowing.

Unlike before this time the air was warm and Kara’s fingers were like magic across her scalp. After a few seconds Kara slowly sat her up, still exhaling as she filtered her fingers through the soft lengths, sweeping across in close proximity only to come to a stop as Cat turned her head enough to look at her from behind the now dry veil of her hair.

Kara barely moved, even when Cat turned against her lap to  face her. Each breath was tighter than the one before it, as if someone were slowly cinching a belt around her ribs as Cat searched over the woman’s features. Kara’s body tensed with the touch of Cat’s fingertips against the base of her throat followed by a palm smoothing over the flat of her chest once more. She stroked her fingers against Kara’s skin, beckoning the woman closer, her gaze falling to Kara’s mouth before leaning in.

Cat’s lips closed around Kara’s own, tugging gently as she started to pull back when Kara followed after her, tasting the swell of Cat’s mouth before she was pushed back towards the wall again. Kara breathed Cat into her as the woman leaned forward until Kara’s hand wrapped around her legs and slid her the rest of the way into her lap with a sharp exhale of surprise that Kara cut off as she deepened their kiss.

Hands rubbed up against her chest, circling around her neck and tangling into her hair before Cat pulled Kara closer. She twisted in the woman’s lap as Kara ushered one leg up and over, hands palmed over Cat’s thighs, kneading at the muscle there before Kara pulled her forward and pushed off the wall with the same motion. Cat’s arms wrapped around the breadth of Kara’s shoulders, teeth tugging at the other woman’s bottom lip with a short gasp as Kara’s hands fit around the underside of her thighs.

Kara crossed the small space away from the immediate view of the door were someone to look in. Lifting Cat up higher before pinning her back against the wall, partially hidden behind their concrete beds with a muffled groan. Kara broke away with a sound of protest from the other woman, mouths still brushing against each other. “Are you-“

Cat nodded, “I’m okay, I’m okay-” she pulled Kara to her again, seizing her mouth and devouring the whimper that rose from Kara’s throat as Cat’s hands pulled back on her hair. Kara pushed her hips forward as Cat rose higher, legs fitting around her sides. Her head fell back with the pull of Cat’s fingers until the other woman was practically bent over her.

Kara pushed at Cat’s shirt, hands rubbing over bare skin. Cat’s hand fit around her jaw from underneath, holding her in place as she turned her head and deepened their kiss hungrily. Kara’s eyes nearly rolled out of her skull with the broad, possessive strokes of Cat’s tongue mapping every contour of her, intent on coaxing Kara’s heart right up out of her chest.

Cat dug her heels against Kara’s lower back, her own bowed completely away from the wall until she felt the shift in gravity beneath them. She grabbed for the top of her bunk, pushing them both back down with an almost amused hum of a sound that vibrated through the both of them.

With another turn of her head Cat forgot everything about their surroundings save for the woman between her thighs. The other woman invaded her every sense, enveloping her in a passion fueled haze of detachment from the entirety of the world. Kara’s fingers grazed through the valleys of her ribs, working towards the fuller curves of her chest before rounding inward.

Kara chased after Cat’s mouth as it broke away on a gasp, nibbling and tonguing the lower swell of her mouth as Cat panted heavily above her. She pushed Cat’s body back with a soft thump, kneading at the swells filling her palms as she watched Cat’s features contort in response to her touch. Kara urged the woman’s shirt up higher, exposing more skin before snagging the neckline of that white sports bra with her teeth.

Cat bit into her bottom lip to keep from crying out with the sharp tug that followed, her eyes squeezing shut with the first swipe of Kara’s tongue against her sternum. Her head fell back against the wall a second after, a hand wrapping around her mouth to keep quiet as the other woman rocked into her. Kara drug Cat’s bra down further, exposing her easily before reaching up and nudging Cat’s hand away.

Kara growled softly against her chest, whispering devotions Cat couldn’t decipher against the raging thunder of her heart. Kara’s thumb pushed across her lips, opening her mouth before Cat sought out her fingers with the pull of her tongue before biting down. Cat sucked in a sharp breath as searing wet heat was painted across tender skin, the edge of Kara’s teeth leaving trails of red in their wake only to be soothed by her lips as her mouth closed around a sensitive pink bud.

Cat pushed herself into Kara’s mouth, hand fisting into her hair as fire poured through her with every pass of Kara’s tongue against her. Her insides coiled tightly, hips rolling down in broken circles against Kara’s body when the unmistakable sound of the automated locks threw them both back into the reality of their situation without remorse. Cat registered another possessive growl from Kara, her body jerking roughly as overly sensitive wet skin began to cool against the cotton material suddenly back in place.

She wasn’t even sure how she was standing, her body clenching painfully around the void where Kara’s body had been. Phantom touches lingered, fading away with every heartbeat as the ache in her legs seemed to double now that they weren’t clinging around Kara’s frame. One hand was still wrapped around the top rail of her bunk, knuckles white from the effort when she realized Kara was seated on her own bed, her fist twisting around Cat’s waistband from behind helping to hold her up while the other held open a book she didn’t remember them having before.

“Danvers, shower, accept or decline?”

Kara cut her eyes towards Cat who was still breathing heavy but had the awareness enough to do so quietly. She felt the squeeze of Cat’s other hand against her knuckles where the officer couldn’t see. “Accept.”

“You’ll have twenty minutes and officer accompaniment. Grant, you know the drill.”

Cat nodded silently, pushing back against the wall to hold herself up as she put her hands flat against the cold stone at her sides. Kara stood after another moment, taking her things as the officer took her arm to lead her out.

“Dinner will be brought in an hour, along with a options available through commissary.”

Cat looked through the line of her hair, acknowledging with a quiet thank you as the officer lead Kara out and closed the door. The instant the lock engaged Cat slid to the floor, letting her head fall back against the wall with a rough exhale. Her legs clamped shut around her hand, fighting to ease the ache throbbing against her palm.

They would have to be far more cognizant of each other and their space lest they get caught which would only lead to isolation. That was something Cat didn’t want, she needed Kara with her, as much as she didn’t want to admit it to herself.

Years of repressed emotions and wayward thoughts crashed in on her then, her body reeling from the added onslaught as she tried to come down off her arousal and adrenaline. A deep, dark part of her threw out a question she wished it hadn’t. Intent on challenging those feelings she had fought to bury for nearly two years now surrounding Kara.

The question took root in that moment; her mind twisting towards the what ifs and thereafter’s. What if this was all just in her head, built up from their present situation? Her heart swelled up in protest, reminding her that they could very well be waking up together in her bed after having spent the day together after that charity event had it all gone smoothly.

Cat stared at the ceiling, the throbbing in her body slowly easing as she let herself relax. A part of her still swam in that cesspool of doubt and rejection, conjuring all the cons Kara would be faced with in looking back on all this and all that Cat didn’t have to offer her. Until a little spark of hope swirled through her insides on a flicker of a memory that soon turned to countless others all centered around Kara. One way or another, they would have to stop this, whatever it was, or at the very least slow it down until they were out and capable of a proper discussion in a much safer and unrestrained environment.

 

**\-------**

 

Alex pushed through the double doors of Lena’s office causing the woman to turn around from where she was standing in front of the view screen. She swiped over her tablet clearing her screen and the larger monitor along the wall before her assistant came rushing in trying to round past Alex.

“I’m sorry Miss Luth… Lena, she just pushed past, the F.B.I. is-“

“I was trying to be polite but after a couple hours my patience only goes so far.” Alex interrupted while Lena laid her tablet down on the nearest surface.

“It’s all right Emily. Though next time maybe show her in sooner.”

Her assistant nodded, backing up and closing the door behind the two women who squared each other up for another minute.

“Should I be worried?” Alex rose an eyebrow at the question while Lena gestured to her attire. “You look as if you’re off to storm the castle.”

Alex set her hands at her hips, shifting her weight to one leg. “Lucky I’m not here with a warrant to shut this all down.”

Lena shifted her jaw, arms coming to cross over her chest. “Here I thought we had gotten off on the right foot.”

“I don’t equate shooting someone in the back, despite saving my life, as the right foot.”

“I’ll have to work on that I see.” Lena moved then, stalking around her office as she kept Alex somewhat ahead of her. “What can I do you for today,  _ Agent Danvers?” _

“Sildex, a subcontractor of yours.”

“Former, actually.”

The fight in Alex’s body was almost immediately siphoned away with those two words as Lena brought down a glass before pointing to a second before Alex shook her head.

“I’m still going through all our, my, acquired assets and while some are rather forthcoming, others are not. Sildex was not.”

“I see.” Alex shifted her weight again as Lena took a sip of her drink, offering a small wince before clearing her throat. “So, who bought them out?”

“No one.” Lena gave a slight wave of her hand. “Technically, no one. I merely pulled my contract option of ownership since they had already passed the five-year threshold, defunded it, notified HR and legal.” She glanced at the clock then. “So give or take twelve hours, closer to eighteen really, and they will be no more.”

“What does that mean-“

“For their detainment operation? As far as I’m concerned, you can own it if you like Agent. Aside from that, it will most likely be absorbed by NCPD or serve some other purpose once those currently secured within it are taken care of.”

Alex’s hands dropped from her waist, words failing her as she watched Lena look her over before crossing the room.

“Problem, Agent Danvers?”

“What if they just relocate-“

“They won’t.”

“You don’t know that.”

“No, I do. You see, at my discretion I added an addendum, that all those incarcerated at any Sildex run facilities were to be reviewed and handled accordingly without relocation and where possible provided their due amnesty.”

Alex tipped her head curiously at the woman who drew in a deeper breath as her hands reaffirmed their grip on her arms.  

“Sorry to have kept you waiting, but I knew I wouldn’t have been able to get any of that done with you hovering about trying to argue something I already agreed with.” Alex looked confused and with it Lena leaned in a little further. “You can be very distracting.”

“I… but, aliens. Your-“

“Legacy? Not mine, I don’t agree with everything people are trying to do concerning aliens, but I know two things. One, going against them has never worked, certainly not in my family so why not try something a little different? Two, I don’t appreciate anyone’s freedoms being taken from them, no matter where they come from. The act is clear, and maybe if it’s given the weight it deserves that’ll bleed over into more domestic arenas.”

“Okay.”

“Okay?”

Alex gave a small nod, letting all of that sink in as Lena continued to study her closely.

“What about the cost of-“

“Taken care of, anonymously of course, through donations to that ICC group and others. So, again, I’m sorry to have made you wait, but it was for the best.”

“I… thanks?”

“Have you eaten?”

Alex looked a little taken aback. “Um... not since breakfast.”

“Would you care to join me for dinner?” Lena chanced watching Alex rub at the back of her neck. 

“Nothing extravagant, eat in here..” Lena wasn’t sure why she was providing so much exposition to follow up the initial question but there was no sign of stopping her now. “I still have other work to do but-“

“Yes.”

Lena straightened back with an edge of a smile, stepping away as she pushed a button on her desk. “Emily? Could you bring in some dinner menus please?”


	6. Chapter 6

Kara was led back into her cell, discarding their collective bit of worn clothes to the waiting cart before they shut and locked the door behind her once more. She stepped just off of the door before whirling around to dry her own hair before looking over the room and finding it empty once more. She should have been disappointed, maybe even a little relieved. Ever since her little grounding session earlier the underlying thread of overthinking everything had quieted to a dull murmur. There would be time enough to over analyze everything once they were out.

Assuming Cat was willing. It was one thing to be locked in a room, hidden away from the rest of the world, mostly, and ignore the weight of the consequences of their actions. Kara knew she had wasted enough time not acting on anything and the more she considered it the more she realized she had been more reactive than initiative between the two of them.

Not that she didn’t share any responsibility on what she and Cat were doing or had done up to this point. She could have easily turned away or said no. Kara would be lying to herself if she said she had wanted nothing that had already happened between them not to. Quite the opposite in fact.

Thinking on it now however, she wondered if it would remain something that never left this space. If it had inadvertently ruined any possibility of a something between her and Cat outside of these four walls. The anecdote alone of their first kiss wasn’t exactly humorous right now. The potential for it was there, but only if that included a future for them beyond this place.

Kara laid out on her bunk, not so much melancholic as she was thoughtful. Considering the what ifs and thereafter’s if the night had ended peacefully. There might have been a something, maybe not a kiss but a good possibility of asking Cat out on a date. She thought of how long it would have taken the two, stretching across dinners and CatCo and several other moments all building up between them like any other normal couple.

Then again she, nor Cat, were any example of normal.

A part of her questioned if this was all some kind of universal trial. Stolen moments confined to closeted spaces, the constant threat of being caught in one form or another. If all their relationship milestones would ultimately be stolen or secret or negotiated through the filter of their dual personas. Supergirl wasn’t the only one of them that carried a high profile. By comparison, the Queen of National City was far more elevated, sometimes held aloft by that very affiliation with Supergirl, and that was without breaking the two down even further.

With Cat, there was her history of past relationships and the well-publicized trials of her career on top of CatCo and any other affiliate she reigned over. While Kara had the DEO and the added bonus of her cousin and his exploits tacked onto her by default to contend with. Plus, everything that had landed them in this predicament in the first place. Although in truth she couldn’t fault it or perhaps didn’t want to. Had things gone differently, after two years of gradually working up the courage to asking Cat out may have only been followed by canceled dinners and rescheduled weekends culminating in another year of dancing around each other. Then again, Cat might have surprised her even beyond accepting the invitation as she had.

Either way, it was far more complicated now. It had granted Kara a taste of possibility and everything thereafter felt like fruit of the poisonous tree despite her want for more.

“How you holding up?” J’onn’s voice suddenly in Kara’s ear made her startle, the swirling contemplation of her and Cat after all this draining away into the back of her mind.

“Could be better, could be worse.”

“You sound… relatively all right with this whole situation.”

Kara searched over the underside of Cat’s bunk, trying to visualize J’onn in her head. “Are you aware of Kryptonian disciplines?”

“A few. Why?”

“I tried one, I haven’t attempted it since I… since before everything happened. I’m not sure I even did it correctly but, it’s done something.”

“Which discipline?”

“Torquasm-Rao. Astra had been teaching me.”

J’onn was silent for a long moment, and Kara wondered if she had lost the signal. “What was your mantra?”

“To stop overthinking and focus.” She heard Hank chuckle quietly, tipping her head to the side as if she could see him shaking his head with a wide grin.

“I’d say you remembered how well enough. Once we get you out of there, perhaps you and I can work on that, if you’d want to.”

Kara smiled to herself. “I’d like that.” The sound of the locks pulled her attention, as did the growing noise of multiple voices outside. “Something’s up, more officers than usual…”

“They may be amping up for the President, we had to convince her not to do her address on the steps of NCPD.”

“I meant outside my door. I’ll get back to you.”

“Danvers, against the wall.” An officer commanded just outside.

Kara backed up and did as they told her, hands against the wall as the door was pulled open and held by another officer. One after another, an officer entered the cell, turning over clear containers of items onto Kara’s bunk.

“What’s going on?” Kara questioned, making sure not to move as someone guided Cat into the room in short order and set beside her against the wall. Cat’s fingertips brushed against her own as she set herself back against the wall as an officer lingered between them like a barricade from the others entering the room.

“Thought you might appreciate the change in dinner options." Kara rose an eyebrow at her before she continued. “We have a trust account,” Cat said, watching the line move along. “Lane gave it to Snapper, who gave it to Olsen, who must have published it.”

Kara watched another set of officers come through before looking at Cat and back again. “We don’t need all this.”

“I know.”

The last of the officer train dumped what was in the container they had before working their way out, followed by the officer maintaining a point between the two women and the other officers. The heavy metal door banged shut, along with the exterior window cover as the locks clattered back into place.

Kara relaxed off the wall, stepping around Cat as she took in the array of snacks, drinks, and the larger assortment of non-food items piled across the whole of her bunk and others that had slid to the floor.  

“This is what was left over,” Cat stated from behind her, studying Kara’s back on the edge of anticipation. Already knowing what question her curiosity would pull itself past Kara’s lips.

“Left over from what?”

“What I couldn’t acquire for everyone else here,” Cat answered honestly. “Once that was taken care of I divided the rest up into the other inmates' trusts.” She continued to observe the other woman as Kara crouched down, gathering a few things from the floor. Not even sure where to put what they had.

“Care packages are being sent to the other side.” Kara turned and looked at her with that. “I have little hope for their distribution but it’s one more thing to pile up on all of it.”

Kara set the things in her grasp on the bed with the rest, looking over the mess one more time before straightening completely. She caught the slight elevation of Cat’s heart rate with the motion and only turned her head to the side enough to see Cat in her periphery.

“Why… are you doing all this?”

Cat stepped back enough until she felt the solidity of the opposite wall against her. Knowing if she went in a forward direction she might not stop until she was wrapped around the other woman. Instead, she crossed her arms over her chest, looking at their treasure trove of assorted goods before glancing back up at Kara.

“It needs to be done,” Cat said, while the voice in her mind said it was all for Kara. “You said as much. What’s being done, here and in other places. What’s already been done with no one really paying mind to it. It’s all wrong.”

Kara turned, studying Cat carefully as she stayed where she was. Amazed at how far apart they seemed despite the small space.

“If you hadn’t- if  _ we _ hadn’t been arrested, would you still be doing it?” The weight of that question settled against Cat’s shoulders like concrete blocks and her initial answer to it was to press herself harder against the wall.

“This exactly?” Kara gave the barest of nods as Cat drew in a deeper breath. “Probably not. It wouldn’t have occurred to me.” It was an honest answer, one she hoped Kara could understand.

Kara watched Cat’s aura spit and curl, shifting across all spectrums around the rim of her glasses while she remained in perfect clarity ahead of her through the filter of lead-lined glass.

“I know, you have your resources and know how to use them,” Kara started, watching the tension pull at Cat’s shoulders as Kara shifted her weight.

“I feel a but coming.”

Kara nodded. “This is highly organized and extremely efficient, even for you.”

Cat tightened her hands around her arms letting out a slow exhale as Kara continued to stare at her. At the time her reasons had been clear. She had figured out what Kara was doing, especially after she put on that cape and the number of new hires with clouded backgrounds appeared to double. When she confronted HR at the time she understood and had taken steps to ensure Kara would be blameless in what she had taken part in. It had been one of the easier arguments with herself to allow Winslow to resign. Realizing how large a part he had played in helping Kara and those employees falsify those records despite never having been made aware.

Kara had reignited that flame in her, reminding Cat the lengths she used to go to when she had far less money and position and four times less to lose. What had tipped the balance was the incident with Master Jailer, as ridiculous a moniker that had been. His mission as some intergalactic judge and jury hell-bent on locking Kara and others away for no more reason than existing pushed her to untangle Kara’s involvement with any alien seeking some kind of refuge at CatCo.

She had been so willing to protect Kara, and her secret, why not those who were no different in circumstance as well? Kara had already laid the groundwork, even before she put on that suit. It felt just as wrong then not to do something as it did with their situation now. Kara had enough self-imposed responsibilities as Supergirl, making that one of her own seemed fitting. Especially if it meant that Cat might end up saving the woman standing across from her if those ever-changing winds of public and private opinion began to shift in the wrong direction.

Cadmus had been just such change, in the form of a maelstrom, and then Olivia had actually contacted her with the initial proposal of her Alien Amnesty Act and all bets were off. Truth be told, Olivia had called on her for more than just an unbiased non-political opinion of that first draft.

“Cat?”

In the time her mind had waxed poetic on the subject of  _ ‘how did we get here’, _ Kara had closed the distance between them by half. Cat rubbed at the front of her neck absently with a slight eyebrow raise, passing the silence off as the end of their conversation.

“Kara?”

“How long have you been planning for this?”

_ 'Two years, seven months, three days-'  _ “Long enough. I’ve never shied away from being prepared for all things, great or small. You should know that already.”

“Considering how often I did the pre-preparing. This is different.”

Yes, it was, on so many levels. “I’ve been arrested before when I had far less to lose,”  _ ‘and that now includes you’  _ she thought. “While I hadn’t expected to add to that record, I needed to be prepared.”

“You could have walked out of here this morning. This isn’t about you, staying locked up, buying all those things, providing for everyone else in here, promoting care packages while a team of lawyers who make more money in a minute than I do in a year-“

“You started it.”

Kara straightened with the defiant admission, while Cat shifted her weight against the wall.

“You couldn’t even help it, it was as natural as breathing and I didn’t notice,” Cat stated, rougher than intended, as her eyes found a point along the wall just over Kara’s shoulder to try to burn a hole through. “Even when you put on that damn cape I didn’t notice.”

Kara’s brow furrowed as she watched Cat seem to fight with herself, her voice laced with something Kara could only attribute as some kind of guilt.

“I told you once before that you changed me,” Cat let out a wry breath of a laugh. “I just never said how much.” Cat finally looked back at her, a fleeting glance of a thing to where that bold emblem on Kara’s chest should have resided and realized the other woman was close enough to touch.

Kara felt her chest strain against each breath, gaze never wavering from the woman in front of her. She saw the pale edge of white outlining Cat’s knuckles as her fingers dug into her arms, the tension still pulling at her shoulders and along her neck as the woman swallowed visibly.

“Tell me now.” With the lift of Cat’s eyes on her, Kara felt as if she had been struck and finally stilled in her gradual approach. “Please?”

“I have risked everything I ever built, willingly I might add, because of that change.” Kara held her breath, half convinced if she didn’t Cat would stop talking. “In that, I found a greater appreciation for why you never told me before what you were, but I also knew that I couldn’t let who you are, that committed, caring, worthwhile woman that walked into my office so willing to sacrifice everything in her life just to be helpful… to have done so for nothing.”

“You, Kara, are the reason for that. My ten-fifteen,” Cat offered a tight smile etched with nostalgia, her eyes turning glassy. “Who earned her right to an opinion in ten seconds flat with a bold-faced lie.” Cat swallowed thickly, while Kara just stared at her. “I asked myself, so many times, how I could have ever demanded devotion and sacrifice from someone like you and not have been willing to risk the same. To not even consider…” Cat shook her head a bit, letting her words fall away as she took in a deep breath in an attempt to reign herself back in.

“Saving the world as Supergirl is one thing. People... humanity needed her, wanted another hero. When in reality, Kara Danvers had silently been one almost from the start, and when I finally noticed… I couldn’t just sit idly by and wait, hoping to take a stand if anyone ever came to take you or anyone else-“

A muffled whimper rounded out Cat’s confession, followed by a gasp rife with all of her pent up emotion against Kara’s mouth. Her body caved with the release of it as Kara’s hands found her waist and held her up while fists curled around Kara’s shirt, twisting her closer by the threads.

Kara felt as if her heart would explode right there; beating against the cage of her ribs as Cat’s emotions poured into her. Trembling lips clung to her own, the oxygen between them depleted with a rough inhale before the taste of the other woman invaded her mouth. Cat reaffirmed the hold on her shirt, as Kara heard the barest of mentions that the president was addressing the nation in her ear before reaching up and pulling the transmitter free.

Cat kissed her hard enough to bruise, were she human. Biting at the swell of Kara’s bottom lip before worrying it between her teeth. Kara panted audibly against the onslaught, hands smoothing around the contours of the woman’s waist before reaching down to knead at her ass, pulling Cat’s body against her own possessively. A hand tangled into her hair, anchoring the pair to each other as Cat pushed off the wall.

Kara moved on the other woman’s momentum, carrying them across the short space until her back collided with the opposite wall and Cat into her. Another gruff moan escaped between them in response before they smothered it silent. Kara widened her stance, Cat fitting between her thighs as she pushed Kara against the wall and fought with the line of her shirt to pull it up and away.

Cat ground her hips into Kara’s body, chasing after whimpers and groans to keep the other woman quiet as she drug her nails down across Kara’s exposed abdomen. Fingers hooked around the line of her pants, breaking past that elastic band as she turned her hand. Cat pulled back so that just the edges of their mouths were touching, breathing each other in until Kara’s eyes widened and her lungs stuttered with the firm pressure of Cat’s fingers circling over the thin barrier of her underwear and against the shallows of her-

“…S-stop…”

Cat drew her features back with a sharp motion, her body rebounding without follow through from the surge of Kara’s hips into her hand as the woman swore against her mouth in frustration. She didn’t dare move, even when Kara kneaded at her forearm. Her body caught up with her as she made to step back, the snap of Kara’s waistband resounding like a shotgun between them.

Kara looked dazed, warring with herself before she caught Cat’s expression and immediately grabbed at her waist to keep her from fleeing to the other side of the room.

“I want this, I want… Gods...” Kara urged, her body still moving in small waves at the hips. She wavered closer, lips brushing against Cat’s ear as she refused to let go just yet. “Cat, I want to feel you inside me...”

The rough, wanton timber of Kara’s voice wrapped in confident affirmation searing her skin made Cat weak in the knees.

“Not here like this…” Cat’s hands grabbed at her arms, digging into her biceps as Kara nosed at the side of the woman’s throat. “Unless... unless it’s all I’m ever going to-“

Cat turned her head, devouring Kara’s last few words until they were both breathless. She drew her body back slowly, slipping out of Kara’s grasp before giving a final tug on her bottom lip as she bowed her features away. Kara flattened her hands against the wall, watching as Cat backed away even further, not stopping until the small built-in table on the opposite wall held her weight once she sank down onto the cold stainless steel. Kara let her head fall back against the painted stone, half-lidded eyes never leaving Cat’s as she eased down to the ground while the two tried to collect themselves.


	7. Chapter 7

Lucy remained where she was at the ops station, hand wrapped around her mouth as Cat’s confessions echoed in her mind. She had meant to announce herself beforehand. The comm was active but nothing had triggered the warning protocols Winn had set in place so they wouldn’t require someone to listen in on Kara’s every second she had the transmitter in her ear.

Kara had to know somewhere they might be listening. Lucy had told her as much so long as the earwig was in it would transmit. Not only that, but her suspicions about Cat and Kara’s involvement with aliens at CatCo had been correct. Although the reasoning behind it all, at least on Cat’s behalf had been magnanimously undershot.

Lucy pulled a keyboard closer, narrowing in on Kara’s signal before locking it down so that only she or Hank could unlock the transmitter on their end either to listen or activate from here on out except for an emergency. Even then that would take Winn to override or a direct request through the signal from Kara.

She felt a presence at her shoulder as she hit enter before pulling the earpiece free and setting it on the desk. Lucy could see Winn’s reflection in the monitor and before he had a chance to say anything she stood and pulled him into a hug.

Winn stood stock still for a moment before gently patting Lucy on the back.

“You all right Luce… I mean director?”

“You do a great job, Winn. Don’t forget that.” Lucy gave him a tight smile before relaying what she needed in place involving additional flags for Kara’s signal before stepping off the dais headed for one of the conference rooms J’onn had set up for them.

She was thankful they had moved out of the desert facility for this, but at the same time realized how visible this facility seemed by comparison. Lucy took a deep breath, moving around the table and taking a seat as she contemplated all the things she had overheard, keeping her back to the glass in case anyone in ops looked in.

There was no mistaking what had transpired just before the signal went silent and with it, Lucy couldn’t help but feel an odd enthusiasm towards it. She knew enough about Cat through her sister, and while Lois’ accounts of their history were laced with veiled insults and embarrassing accounts at Cat’s expense Lucy had always suspected there was something more there.

The trials Lois had painted between her, Cat and Clark fell under a new light. She had always figured it was Cat versus Lois for that man’s affections but what if it had been Cat versus Clark for her sister’s… and Superman had won out? It would explain a whole hell of a lot concerning Cat’s initial break down of Supergirl in the beginning. Depending on when Cat had discovered Kara’s secret, it would have explained even more about their dynamic in the office.

At least until Kara had ceased to be Cat’s assistant. Lucy had noticed a shift in both women shortly after she had joined the ranks, but certainly not in the direction the two were barreling towards now. Lucy rubbed at her forehead idly, setting her fist against her temple as she scanned over witness reports Alex and Susan had gathered from those they had helped get away. The only other statements they had were from Cat and Kara, and those who had been on the opposite side. Any statements from the aliens currently detained either hadn’t been released or, Lucy suspected, actually been taken.

Lucy knew Cat’s legal team, which had grown with the addition of the ICC’s complement of lawyers, were working just as hard as she and the D.E.O. and somehow it still felt as if they hadn’t made a dent. None of those incarcerated were closer to release and the D.E.O. had, as yet, to identify the few figures who had basically thrown gasoline on this fire before skulking back into the shadows.

Alex made her way across main ops with a slight spring in her step, giving a small knock to the conference room before stepping inside and shutting the door behind her. Lucy looked up with a raised eyebrow as Alex dropped a folder half the size of a dictionary on the table in front of her.

“Doing some light reading?” Lucy questioned before she caught sight of the LCorp logo emblazoned on the file. “Please tell me you didn’t steal that.”

“Nope.” Alex dropped into a chair, scooting over. “Lena gave it to me, it’s everything on Sildex, its employees and operations and…” Alex passed over a smaller folder, although not by much. “The termination of operations paperwork.”

“Say what now?” Lucy grabbed the smaller folder first, flipping it open to skim over the pages within it.

“Lena bought them out, as soon as she figured out what was going on. Then systematically shut it all down. She’s giving a press conference Tuesday morning. I figure a few hours after that and everyone is out.”

Lucy frowned, skimming page after page before glancing up at Alex. “Why Tuesday?”

“Notification, HR and legal or something. Basically, she took ownership then dissolved it but not before setting up a few mandated contingencies and re-appropriated funds to smooth out the process. It’s not just the one here either, apparently, Sildex has a good handful of these facilities. She even gave money to the ICC for it and-“

“I’m not sure that’s such a good idea,” Lucy said absently as she looked over a particular set of conditions and clauses. “Although whoever is doing her legal work is definitely impressive…”

“She’s just trying to do the right thing, especially given her family and all. I thought you’d be ecstatic.”

“Ever heard the phrase too good to be true?”

Alex sat back a bit, feeling her lighthearted mood starting to sink. “Just because she’s a Luthor-“

“It has nothing to do with that.” Lucy defended, turning over more pages. “It has to do with optics.”

“Optics?”

Lucy nodded before setting the page she was looking over aside. “If it were just this facility or even this one and say the one in Metropolis, it would be different… maybe. This thing has exploded, and she’s trying to cut through silk with a broadsword here.”

“Meaning what?”

“It looks good, on one side. I mean I can get behind it but that’s because I agree with what she’s attempting to do. On the other side, there are a lot of people who don’t right now and you can bet the people she’s about to lay off will not be thrilled their jobs just ended with a split decision like that. I’m not trying to be discouraging but that whole immediate action thing isn’t something to shoot for right now. It’s no different from the President not pardoning everyone involved even though technically she could.”

Alex made a face at the irony of Lucy’s statement. Lena did seem a bit rapid-fire but where some might see rash and unthoughtful decision making, Alex saw it as what needed to be done. Then again Alex was never really one for bureaucracy and red tape.

“So this isn’t a good thing?”

“I think she needs to be careful. She’s not exactly high up in the realm of public opinion-“

“That’s not her fault.”

“Never said it was, I mean, it appears as if she has some kind of backup funding in place for those employees which not a lot of others in her position would. I just don’t know if those people will see it so much as being taken care of, as being pushed out over aliens.”

Alex let out a deep sigh, rubbing at her face in frustration. “She wants me to be there.”

“Where? Her press conference?”

Alex nodded. “Said she felt safer speaking in public again with someone she could trust.”

“You already agreed didn’t you?”

“Yes.”

Lucy winced internally, giving a small shake of her head. “I’d recommend you stick to plain clothes and the crowd, otherwise you’re making a show of support or, as some might see it, a show of force. Being right beside her on behalf of the D.E.O. which is essentially speaking for the government and all.”

“Well, shit.”

“Can’t talk her out of it?”

Alex shook her head. “It’s already set in motion. She only waited this long because she didn’t want to overshadow the President, along with wanting all that stuff-” Alex gestured to the second folder, “-to be finished out first.”

Lucy gave a few nods. “Smart… or would be if it involved anything else right now.” Alex made a noise while Lucy hid a smirk, exchanging the closeout file for employee records.

“Have you heard from-“

“Yes,” Lucy said a little too quickly before clearing her throat, pretending to concentrate on an employment record. “They’re good. Restless but-“

“I’d be climbing up a wall.”

Lucy bit at the inside of her cheek, holding off on her initial comment about what Kara and Cat were climbing. She gave a distracted nod as Alex looked at her expectantly to continue with the micro de-brief. “How long have you been on a first name basis with National City’s newest CEO?”

“Who? Lena?”

“No, Cat.” Lucy offered wryly as she set aside a few employee records.

Alex drew the records Lucy set aside to her, looking them over instead of at Lucy as she muttered something under her breath.

“What was that? I didn’t hear you.”

“She doesn’t like to be addressed by her last name.” Alex clarified, her brow furrowing as she read over a particular section of the paper in front of her.

Oddly, Lucy could understand that. It had taken forever to get out from under her own name thanks to her father and her sister. Nothing to the likes of Lena’s predicament by comparison, however.

“You just seem... invested is all.”

Alex got up abruptly, causing Lucy to startle and work towards an apology as the other woman made her way out towards ops in a rush. Lucy was up after another second, following after her friend.

“Alex I didn’t mean anything-“

“There,” Alex pointed as Winn stopped the footage from an ATM camera nearby. Frozen on the screen mid-stride was one of the men who had been the driving force behind inciting the protestors to violence. “On his arm…”

Alex handed the sheet over to Lucy, pointing at the distinguishing features section of his employment record. “Tell me I’m wrong.”

Lucy looked over the descriptor of the tattoo mentioned before looking up to the screen as Winn enhanced the image all but confirming the man’s identity with it. “That explains how they moved as a unit. Ex-military, I’m going to bet the other three were part of his unit.”

“That means they’d all be employed at Sildex. Winn, cross-reference his known associates and pull up his service jacket. We might find the others there.” Alex offered, setting her hands on her hips as she watched the monitors.

“I have a bad feeling about this,” Lucy started, watching a second employee id photo pin itself to the monitors beside the one they had identified. “What was Miss Luthor’s time table for the announcement?”

“Twelve hours minimum, eighteen for peace of mind and that was around five this evening,” Alex stated.

Lucy pulled up another keyboard, taking over the adjacent monitor as she started to key in her own set of search parameters and cross-referencing the result with known detained aliens at the same facility before the event at the alien bar. One after another, other missing aliens began to populate on the screen Lucy had taken control over.

“I’m not sure this can wait until Tuesday.” Lucy stood back slowly, watching the screen continue to fill up before looking over at Alex.

Alex scanned the screen, along with Lucy’s search parameters as that sinking feeling from earlier doubled. It listed every alien that came up on the screen as either missing or detained at the Sildex facility with their recently discovered suspect as the last reported point of contact.

 

**\-------**

 

Kara was laid out on her bed, having cleared it off along with all the other items Cat had procured from earlier into as many built-in spaces she could manage. The rest were littered about and tucked aside out of their way.

As it was the two of them had barely managed a few words between them since. When the tension between them seemed to settle to a tolerance level with which they could attempt to verbally communicate with one another, the guards had shown up again. With a complement of others Kara recognized as the secret service. It would only make sense someone like Olivia, despite being the President, would want an audience not only with the de facto leader of this movement Cat had started, but to ensure her friend was indeed all right.

Kara had to wonder how they managed that without a riot or the press getting wind of it but given what she knew the D.E.O. was capable of as far as secretive ops and other silent activities it should be a kind of standard amidst other agencies within the government. Especially those under orders of the President herself.

Elsewhere in a private room Cat sat back in her chair, eyeing the woman across from her. While her argument was sound, it still didn’t sit right with Cat and Olivia knew it.

“Don’t look at me in that tone of voice.”

Cat let out a dark sigh through her nose, pushing her hair back from her face a moment after as she continued to stare at her friend. “Is this because I turned you down?”

“Which time?”

Cat gave Olivia a look, while the woman merely held her hands up in her own defense.

“I’m just saying, there’ve been more than a few times-“

“I’m not talking about college or when you decided to run after Hillary, I’m talking about now. When you asked my opinion on this act of yours and-“

“Oh, you mean leaving CatCo and coming to work in the white house as my press secretary. That one.”

“Well?”

“No. This has nothing to do with that, although I can’t say I wasn’t disappointed. Surprised as hell really. I thought you would have jumped at the chance at being the voice of the free world and all.”

Cat shifted her jaw, toying with a strand of her hair. “Yes well, seems I dove in another direction.”

“Can’t say I pegged you for a vigilante,” Olivia smirked as Cat stilled. “Not a bad look on you though to be honest.”

“At least I’m not dressing up as a bat and stroking fear into the hearts of men.”

Olivia chuckled quietly.

“He has a damned signal Olivia, it’s so-“

“How is that any different from that caped crusader you have leaping and bounding across your city?”

“I don’t have to shine a spotlight into the sky. Though I suppose being human, he would have to have something.”

Olivia shook her head. “I suppose.”. The woman looked her friend over for another minute until Cat quirked a curious eyebrow at her. “They say prison can break a person, I’d say it’s done the opposite with you.”

“Yes well, this is jail not prison, a little more lockup, a lot less time.”

“So you’re not mad?”

“Oh, I’m furious.” Cat allowed with a hint of sarcasm. “It’s why I had to say no, wouldn’t be able to keep my mouth shut on how idiotic I found some of your political grandstanding. Before arguing it as the right course of action of course.”

“Of course.” Olivia mused drawing in a deep breath. “If I could pardon you without repercussion I would, and the rest, but thanks to how this has spread like wildfire I have to seek out a different course. If Congress-”

Cat held up a hand. “If they ratify against you they could overturn the order and write in an opposing law so you could never bring it back. While I don’t believe that would happen, that was before this-”

“Had a very public, very human face to it.”

Cat gave Olivia a mildly apologetic look as the woman stood up. “I’m not sorry.”

“Nor should you be Cat, you know I love you just the way you are, claws and all.”

Cat smirked slowly standing up herself before backing up against the wall, hands visible at her sides.

“One way or another, this will be over soon. I promise.”

“I know.”

Olivia knocked on the door and a complement of secret service agents appeared while the woman nodded to her friend. “I’ll look for your thank-you card in the mail.”

Cat gave Olivia a wry glare before the woman disappeared around the corner under escort and Cat’s own complement of security entered the room to take her back to her cell.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Totally blame this song... and it's whole vibe ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrF_nM9pknU)
> 
>  
> 
> Also we've reached the initial NSFW portion of our story

Kara swung her legs out from the bed at the sound of the lock being released, giving a sigh as she made a show of her hands when requested but was genuinely surprised when no one told her to hold up the nearest wall.

An officer entered, moving aside a few items before locking a small television into one of their cubby’s only to step aside as they led back Cat into the cell.

“Lights out ladies.”

The door was bolted into place, along with the window covering before the main lights of their cell were shut off, leaving them in the dimly lit space. Or at least it was for Cat, Kara barely registered the change as her eyes adjusted with a blink.

“They could wait until we’re settled,” Cat argued as Kara watched her reach out for the nearest surface.

“It’s already after midnight...” Kara offered watching Cat tilt her head towards her. “Do you want-“

“Give me a minute, I’ll adjust,” Cat said a little harsher than intended, hearing Kara’s exhale of resignation before the sound of her mattress rubbing against concrete filled the space.

Kara wasn’t sure what to do or say, she knew Cat was frustrated not just at their situation but whatever had come about with her meeting with the president. She could see it in the waves of her aura. A visual she obscured by putting on her glasses to block it out.

Cat closed her eyes, counting to ten and allowing her vision to adjust as she tried to remember the layout of the room. Which wasn’t too terribly difficult given the small space. After a few more seconds she opened her eyes, making out most her surroundings and narrowing in on Kara.

“Meeting was that good?” Kara tried as Cat let out a soft breath of a laugh.

“So good the motorcade’s waiting.”

Kara smirked, curling her fingers into her palms to keep from reaching out to help guide Cat up into her bunk. Cat barely brushed against Kara’s knees as she passed, feeling her way to the small ladder before pulling herself up.

Kara glanced up, listening to Cat move around before pushing back and stretching out again on her bed. She focused on the heartbeat above her and the wavelike sounds of Cat’s breathing. If she closed her eyes, she could almost imagine they were in the same bed settling in after a full workday at-

“I’m sorry I got you into all this,” Kara uttered, listening to the subtle shifts in Cat’s body.

“I’m not,” Cat said after a long moment between them, searching over the ceiling. “I got myself into it.”   _‘A while ago’_ she thought.

Kara chewed on her bottom lip a bit, keeping her eyes closed as she continued to focus on Cat’s heartbeat. Letting her fingertips drift back and forth in time with her breathing along the bedsheet.

“Why did you accept the invitation?”

“Why did you wait til the last minute?” Cat answered back without hesitation.

“I…” Kara opened her eyes, searching the blank space above her. There wasn’t really any point in obscuring her words now all things considered, and yet, she still hesitated. As if there was something still there to lose completely. If it hadn’t already been after everything in this place. “I thought it would be easier to excuse you not accepting with it being such short notice.”

Cat let out a deep breath with that, realizing Kara’s reasoning was a product of her own making.

“Instead of wondering the whole time until the event or after.”

“I might have surprised you.”

“You never cease to.”

“Why did you invite me, Kara?”

Kara heard the other woman’s heartbeat drum a little harder, as the rhythmic flow of her breathing slowed to a stop. “I wanted to… show you a part of me I didn’t think I could. Especially after keeping it from you-“

“Even when I figured it out anyway.”

Kara smiled softly giving a small shake of her head. “Can’t get anything past you.”

Cat chuckled quietly, still staring at the ceiling. “You certainly tried hard enough.”

Kara swallowed down her nerves, looking at the concrete slab through her glasses. “Should have tried just as hard to ask you out, instead of hiding that from you too.”

Cat shifted slightly, feeling the jump in her heartbeat with the confession. Kara picked up the change easily, reaching up before curling her finger back from the frames of her glasses.

“When did… you-“

“After a year,” Kara rushed, hearing the slight hitch in Cat’s breath. “You had just come off the elevator, in that blue dress with the open back panel after a weekend out in Metropolis for some event. You just… smiled at me, right when the doors opened… as if-“

“I was happy to see you.” Cat finished, feeling her throat flush with the admittance. She remembered that morning.

“Cat?”

“Kara?”

“Can I… can I look at you?”

“You’re-“

“I have my glasses on, they’re more than just for show, but I didn’t want to invade your space any more than I already have.”

“You haven’t _invaded_ anything.” Cat breathed, rubbing a hand over her solar plexus as it twinged. “That implies subjugation.” Cat listened carefully, straining to hear Kara breathe. “You can be overwhelming, but not in a negative way.”

Kara searched the air, glasses still in place. “Am I overwhelming you now? I can-“

“Don’t say you can stop Kara. You could try, and that effort would be magnanimous in its attempt were we anywhere else.” Cat took a deep breath, hand smoothing over her abdomen. “You’re everywhere in this small space and that’s coming from someone without superpowered senses.”

Kara let out her own deep breath, Cat wasn’t wrong. By comparison, she indeed had the upper hand when it came to her senses and Cat had filled them almost completely. Permeating each and every one without effort or fault. The only reason Kara hadn’t focused on them, despite the few intimate moments they had gotten swept up in was due in part-

“There have been enough distractions not to really notice or focus on it-“

“Until now.” Kara finished, hearing Cat hum with a vague agreement.

They remained in the silence despite the weight fluctuating between them. Kara knew she wouldn’t be able to sleep, wondering if Cat was bordering on the same or if she was more capable of compartmentalizing things than Kara gave her credit. Cat was no slouch in that department, quite a master in fact until everything built upon itself and threatened to crumble.

A part of Kara wanted to stay silent, to linger in her thoughts and save the question brimming in her mind for when they were out. But then the distractions of their worlds would sweep them up, carry them apart, interfere with discussions she wanted to have, push aside intentions and possibilities until they were two separate people looking for last-minute gestures to find the depths of the something between them only from within the shallows.

Cat continued to stare at the ceiling as the seconds turned to minutes and the silence ebbed between them like a weight that pulled at her mind. Flickers of memory played across her mind’s eye. The hard, unforgiving surface of the wall at her back, Kara's fingers in her hair, hot breath against her neck, wet skin quivering under her fingers.

She actually heard Kara breathe, pulling in her own breath and catching the barest scent of sun-kissed skin. She closed her eyes, and the images intensified pushing out an exhale laced in frustration. She wondered if this was all they would have, a glimpse at their lives hiding in small spaces, stealing intimate touches and the confession of their hearts translated through heated kisses fueled by breathless whimpers. Only to be interrupted by the world at large at any given moment calling for either one of them.

With another shift of Cat’s body, no doubt seeking some kind of comfort Kara drew in a slow breath. Wanting nothing more than to pull her glasses away so she could at least see the other woman.

“Cat…?” Kara heard Cat grow still despite her whisper.

“Do you just… shut it all off?”

Kara’s brow furrowed, her mind grasping for context.

“Is that another special ability I am as yet unaware of?” _‘Or are you lying there struggling even more than I am...?’_

Kara licked her lips, Cat’s heartbeat drumming in her ears opposite her own. She kept each breath shallow and measured, trying to visualize complex Kryptonian equations to drown out the total recall of Cat’s body in her arms, against her tongue, permeating every-

“No,” Kara breathed. “I’ve just had more practice.”

“Is it working? All that practice?”

Kara swallowed thickly, the images of Cat’s expressions in response to Kara’s touch overshadowing those mathematical constructs.

“Not with you.”

Cat’s breath stuttered slightly with Kara’s words, fingers curling against her shirt for some kind of distraction.

“You’re like Kryptonite,” Kara confessed, hearing Cat draw in a sharper breath.

Cat turned slightly, facing the wall, placing a hand against the cold stone on the hopes of it having a similar effect as a cold shower. She could slip down and splash water on her face but knew she’d never make it past the edge of Kara’s bed.

“Have you…” Cat stared at the wall, unsure if she should follow through with her question or lead them in a different direction.

“Have I what?”

“Have you ever been with anyone-“

“Are you asking if I’m a virgin Cat?”

“Maybe…” Cat’s fingers curled against the wall, holding her breath as she waited for the other woman to shut down the conversation. “I just… that seems like a lot of control… that might require a devotion of practice to try to master.”

Kara let out a soft laugh of a sound as Cat bit back a groan threatening to escape unexpectedly.

“I’m more of a giver… to be completely honest.” Cat felt her heart quiver with the words. “Easier that way.”

“That’s not fair.” Cat breathed.

“Haven’t really had any complaints.”

Cat closed her eyes, giving a small shake of her head at Kara’s tone. She was deflecting despite trying to sound assured of what she was saying.

“Do you still have your glasses on?”

Kara closed her eyes, practically feeling Cat’s heart beating against her own body. “Yes.”

“Do you still… want to take them off?”

“Yes.”

Cat pulled in a deep breath, worrying her bottom lip a minute before turning on to her back again. “I want that too.”

Kara reached up after another second, pulling her glasses away before slowly opening her eyes. She felt her chest expand as she attuned her vision to the sight above her. Cat was laid out over her, on her back like a phantom. Close enough to consume every one of her senses except touch.

Cat rubbed at the flat of her chest, searching over the ceiling. “This is insane.” She whispered, hearing Kara starting to apologize but pushed onward. “I want…”

Kara reached up, running her fingertips against unforgiving concrete, tracing the contours of the shape above as Cat moved again. “I know, Cat. I know.”

Cat shook her head slightly, pulling in a deeper breath. “You don’t.” She licked her lips, turning slightly towards the front of her bed. “I want to give you something… “

Kara pulled in a deep breath again, the distinct scent of arousal filling her as she let out a soft gasp.

“And I don’t want you thinking, any of this is all you’ll ever get.” Cat’s fingers curled against her shirt, exposing her abdomen before trembling fingertips caressed her own skin as she turned further onto her side. She heard Kara whimper beneath her and fanned her fingers across her lower stomach.

“Just tell me to stop and I will.”

Kara bit at her bottom lip, her nerves slowly fraying as Cat’s heartbeat increased. “What do you want to give me?”

Cat husked out a breath, her hand pushing under her shirt and up across her torso. She refused to hold back the whimper of a groan as fingertips rounded over an overly sensitive peak before she palmed at her own breast with a heavy pant. “Me…”

Kara let out her own noise of aroused disbelief as Cat worked herself up, kneading and pulling at herself as little moans drifted down for Kara to hear. She watched Cat twist onto her side further, back arcing into her own hand as her knees curled slightly. The woman’s aura flushed a myriad of colors, spilling around the edges of her bed while Kara flattened her hand against the concrete slab.

Cat drug her nails down across her skin, letting out another huff of a breath as she turned over completely. Pushing up a little as she tried to look through the mattress and stone beneath her. She heard Kara gasp louder, felt the thump of the slab beneath and let out a quiet groan.

“It’s not the only thing you’ll ever get…” Cat rolled her hips, pushing past the edge of her waistband. The heat against her fingers was instant the further she reached. Body already starting to tremble as the heavier sound of Kara’s breathing reached her. She focused on the faint echo of the two of them off the walls, the rush of electricity across her skin, the heady scent of arousal thickening in the air. She bowed her body, swirling her fingertips through the wetness she found.

“But I swear it’s a start…”

Kara rolled her hips in tight circles, legs curling toward herself as she watched the woman above her in awe. “What’re you doing to me?” She rasped, her chest caving at the sight of Cat’s fingers circling slowly between her own legs. She was wet enough to taste as Kara drew in a deep breath until she was almost lightheaded.

“Giving you hope,” Cat uttered before pulling in a sharp breath as she slid two fingers inside herself. Kara swore beneath her before letting out another rough groan of a sound. Cat breathed hard and heavy, closing her eyes tight as she imagined that it was Kara’s fingers buried within her before daring to move.

Cat drove her hips against her hand, pinning her arm against the mattress as she ground down towards Kara. Her body quivered and shook with every action, languid heat poured over her muscles, swirling in a pool at the base of her spine.

Kara pulled at her own shirt, legs closing around nothing as she refused to even blink while Cat writhed above her. She caught the barest of movement in her periphery only to reach out a half second after.

Cat let out a broken rasp of a sound as Kara’s fingers threaded through those of her free hand. She was pulled closer to the edge, squeezing the other woman’s hand hard as she drove her fingers in an ever-increasing rhythm into herself.

Kara heard her name through the muffled expanse above her. She tightened her grip on Cat’s hand, wanting nothing more than to yank the woman down to her and take over. Cat reaffirmed her grip with every stroke, rolling her hips against the bed as if it were the woman beneath her.

“I’ve got you…” Kara panted, her other hand fitting between her legs for anything to press herself against. The waves of Cat’s aura intensified, writhing and building around the both of them like a fog thick enough for Kara to practically touch. She watched as Cat moved against the bed above her, driving her hips down onto the length of her fingers, rubbing herself against the heel of her hand. Her heartbeat sent shock waves of color outward, as streaks of lightning arched across her nerves and along her spine, racing out through her body.

It was like witnessing the birth of a star, tearing through the nebulous of space confined to the human body moving above her.

Cat pushed a little harder as her hips rolled a little faster, her mind begging for her to draw it out, to call out to the woman beneath her, to wrap her up and finish what she’d started. Any other time, any other place she would draw this out for hours. Taking and surrendering control until the two of them ceased to be two separate individuals. Instead, she tightened her grip on Kara’s hand knowing she couldn’t possibly hurt her before shifting her weight to one hip as she drew her other leg higher, digging her knee into the thin mattress.

“Please, Cat…” Kara’s voice sounded as if it were right against her ear, the heat of it rushing over her skin like fire. “I want to see you come apart…”

Cat opened herself up further, teeth fitting around sheet and cushion as she bit down, smothering the sounds that refused to stay in her throat any longer. Her body quaked with every downward roll of her hips, muscles protesting her position. She barely registered her own hand, her arm having gone numb in the last passing seconds, which made it all the easier to believe it was Kara moving inside her, coaxing her closer and closer to the edge. Kara’s voice pleaded against her ear again and with her next thrust she added a third finger as a strangled series of noises escaped her and her hips jumped sharply all on their own.

Kara’s eyes widened when she heard the sudden intake of breath from the woman above her, as if she were pulling all the oxygen from the room. A cascade of electricity erupted from around Cat’s hips, ricocheting throughout her body and across her nerves throughout her body setting off smaller explosions of color and lightning in a breathtaking display. Cat pulled hard on her hand, nails digging into her skin without remorse as their joined limbs shook from the effort.

Cat’s body bowed up, hips locked forward, surging in tight little bursts as slick, velvety walls viced around her fingers in waves. She let out a broken cry of an exhale, collapsing in on herself as the sensation of hot wax pouring through her insides melted her into submission. She caught the sound of a fragmented moan of her name coupled with the pull of Kara’s hand on her own. She turned on her side closer to the edge of her bed, trying to quiet each hard and heavy breath in favor of Kara’s trembling whimpers beneath her. She pulled herself free with a whine, rubbing against the remaining pressure of her hand in lazy half circles in time to the other woman’s arduous fervor.

Kara huffed audibly, each inhale a sharp stab of breath as she worked her jaw against the clamp of her teeth until the lock of her muscles gave way with a short burst of anguished relief. She wrapped an arm around her torso, hugging herself tightly as tremors faded through her body leaving her weak and even more wanting than before.

She registered the slow circle of Cat’s thumb against her hand, easing the siphoning sensation draining through her. She swallowed thickly, staring at Cat’s body above her, turned somewhat on her side, arm draped over the edge of her bed. Tiny sparks of electricity still misfired through Cat’s frame, dancing across her spine only to fizzle out along her muscles.

They lingered in the gentle wash of each other’s breaths, trickling back to earth and their own bodies on the lull of faux ocean waves.

Cat turned her torso around further, wrapping an arm around her excuse for a pillow as she pulled it over enough to lay herself on top of it, allowing her shoulder to relax and hang over the edge of her bed instead of at the odd angle she had ended up at. Kara rubbed her free hand along the base of her throat, kneading against the angles of her collarbones as she continued to watch Cat above her striving to find some kind of comfort to get at least a little sleep.

“Tell me we’re getting out of here soon…” Kara breathed, her voice rough in its whisper. Cat squeezed her hand weakly, adjusting enough so that she might pretend the drumming in her ear was Kara’s heartbeat over her own.

“I can’t do that again,” Cat rasped, closing her eyes. “Not because I don’t want to, but because I want it to be you.” She felt the returned pressure of Kara’s fingers and the faint murmur of groan below her. “I really want to kiss you right now.”

Kara kneaded at her own throat with another hushed sound at those words, fighting everything in her body to keep from getting up and climbing into that top bunk with the other woman. “I can taste you.”

Cat swore above her, resisting the urge to bite at her pillow for something to occupy her mouth as her body coiled and twisted on the inside with that information.

“We have to stop,” Cat warned, “or they will have plenty of reasons to separate us and I can’t…”

Kara squeezed her hand firmly, assuring the other woman that wouldn’t happen with the gesture. “Try to get some rest… I’m not going anywhere.”

“Promise me.”

“I promise.”


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Blame this one for this chapter ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VONMkKkdf4)

Lena hurried across the length of her penthouse, pulling her arm through the sleeve of her robe as she commanded the lights to come up by half. The pounding on her door continued followed with the insistent call of her name just beyond it. She glanced at the clock on the wall, wondering who or what would have the gall to cause such a ruckus at four in the morning.

She grabbed the door handle, hearing the click of the lock before flinging the thing open and snagging the wrist of the woman suddenly in front of her before her fist impacted with Lena’s face. All the irritation and fight left her body in an instant, her hand lowering despite keeping hold of the woman in front of her.

“Alexandra…” Lena’s voice held just as much surprise as Alex’s features showed. “What’s happened?”

Alex felt her chest tighten with her full name, flexing her hand a bit until Lena came into herself and let her go with a start and stepped aside to let her in. Alex made a quick round of the living space, finding no one else around before turning as Lena made to shut the door and nearly dropped the file in her hand.

As Lena turned Alex was privy to bare legs that seemed to go on forever and the thinnest shimmer of a camisole. Lena was devoid of the sharper contrast of her makeup from earlier and the sleek, wet look of her hair was relaxed with sleep-tousled waves.

It wasn’t until the long folds of a robe were pulled closed that Alex fumbled with the folder in her grasp to obscure the fact she had been staring.

“Sildex has been taking aliens.” Alex glanced around moving to a nearby table as she spread the images out. “These men are employed at that facility, the same ones who started the riot at the bar, and almost every single one of these missing person reports originates after an arrest by them.”

Lena drew herself up beside Alex, pressing against her shoulder as the other woman laid out each element of her argument.

“How soon can you make that announcement?”

Lena looked over the files, her brow furrowing as the weight of it all sank into her bones.

“I know you said fifteen hours for finaliz-“

“Five. I can make it in five.”

“Good, we need to get in there before any more go missing.”

Lena reached over, picking up the array of missing aliens as she scanned over it. “Have you found any of them?”

Alex glanced over, looking at the photo before turning her attention back to Lena. “We have some leads, nothing concrete, we’re hoping once we have them in custody-“

“They’ve gone this far, what makes you think they’ll say a word?” Lena had a point but Alex was certain if J’onn could get near them- “I think I can do you one better. They’ll have nothing to bargain with once you apprehend them.”

Alex looked confused as Lena brushed past her, grabbing for a phone as she dialed a number and made a motion for Alex to wait as she disappeared into the depths of her penthouse.

Alex leaned back slightly, making sure Lena was out of sight before touching a finger to her ear. “Lucy, I think I may have a lead on the missing aliens, how fast can you ready a team?”

“ _Depends, what’re we tracking?”_

“Me, follow my signal and just… be ready.”

“ _You’re sure about all this? What if its-“_

“It’s not a trap. She’s only half a Luthor.” Alex defended.

Lucy was thankful she couldn’t be seen, trying not to take the sentiment personally, being half a Lane on her father’s side. She bore just as much of the brunt of that name and reputation on all sides. Still, she had a nagging feeling Alex was too close to this one, although she wasn’t sure why.

“ _All right Danvers, we’re tracking your signal. Alpha team will notify when they’re five out from your location.”_

“Understood.”

“ _Anything about-“_

“Five hours. Have the rest on standby so we can get into that detention center.” Alex heard the shutting of a door and told Lucy she had to go, before busying herself with gathering the contents of the file folder back together.

“I take it you have a car?” Lena questioned as she finished tying her hair back and grabbing a jacket that she shrugged into.

“Not exactly?”

“Is it fast?”

“It can be.”

“Then it’ll be less conspicuous than anything I’ve got available right now.”

By the time they reached the parking level Lena was thinking she should have called for one of her cars, although in doing so she might have given their advantage away.

“We can wait-“

Lena shook her head, eyeing the motorcycle before taking a breath and grabbing the helmet off the back. “You… know how to handle one of these?”

“Like it’s a part of me,” Alex assured.

“Then I trust you to get us where we’re going in one piece.”

Alex tucked the file away inside a container along the bike before hooking a leg over the thing and starting it up. She scooted a little further forward to give Lena some room before she felt the woman brace herself on her shoulder and saddle up behind her.

“Can’t be too different from riding a horse.” Lena tried, wrapping her arms around Alex’s torso securely.

“Or fifty,” Alex muttered, pulling back on the throttle before toeing the bike into gear.

After a while, the city faded into obscurity, while it wasn’t exactly on a similar trajectory towards the D.E.O. it was easy to see the desert held more than its fair share of secrets both good and bad. Once they were further out in the open she kicked the bike into high gear as Lena buried herself into her back and held on tighter.

The smallest tugs on her jacket were her guide as she wove them along the more open highway space. It was still dark enough to keep them mostly hidden although she wasn’t sure how long that would last depending on where Lena was leading them.

“There should be a split up here,” Lena shouted pulling Alex’s attention. She throttled down and rounded a sharper curve before cutting the bike off the road. The split was patterned just enough to be missed coming from either side as the focus of any driver should have been navigating the curve. Alex down shifted, reducing the jostling motion of the rougher terrain as they approached a crag of rock jutting up from the landscape.

Alex waited for Lena to get off before kicking out the stand and stepping around the thing. She had a hand on her sidearm, half expecting a welcoming party with their arrival. Lena set the helmet down on the bike, brushing herself off as she neared Alex, keeping the well armed woman just slightly ahead of herself.

“There was nothing listed at this location.”

“Location? This is a rock in the middle of nowhere.” Alex stepped forward, as Lena’s hand settled on her back between her shoulder blades. Aside from Kara, Alex wasn’t accustomed to someone so tactile. She pushed onward slowly, mapping her footing as they neared the stone structure. There was a high-pitched whir of a sound that made Alex pull Lena behind her completely. A blinding blue light raced over both of them before turning red as another industrialized sound rumbled beneath them before a green crosshair centered on Alex’s chest.

“I have a really bad feeling about this,” Alex warned making to draw her sidearm only to have Lena push her hand down and keep her gun holstered.

“ _Identity confirmed. Alexandra Hetherington Danvers. Override protocols initiated.”_

“Don’t move.” Lena virtually slid around Alex’s body, setting the crosshair at her center as the scanner powered up again. The blinding light raced over them once more only this time with Lena shielding Alex’s body. The crosshair blinked out of sight as a hydraulic thud shook the ground beneath their feet.

 _“New Identity confirmed. Initial access granted.”_ The stone shelf broke apart before widening further to reveal a sunken entryway barred by another panel of doors.

“Don’t let go,” Lena murmured, holding onto Alex from behind as she started forward uneasily. The softer sand gave way to hardened concrete and Lena stepped aside towards the shallower walkway, as the main slab seemed to angle down towards the larger set of doors.

“That’s a transport tunnel,” Alex said, barely leaning away to see how far it dipped down before Lena pulled at her to straighten up. The smaller door directly ahead of them lit up along the center, a small compartment built into it exposing a small console.

_“Biological confirmation required.”_

“The hell is this place?”

“I don’t know yet. It was just an overhead map with property outlines for a build out that never started. According to the paperwork.”

“How did you even think to come here?”

“The gas station six miles back. It’s hard not to miss something called _‘The Lucky Whole’_ on an expense report.” Lena commented, setting her hand on the plate.

Alex chuckled to herself despite the situation, looking over the scanner and surrounding console. “Sure that thing’s safe?”

“I can’t imagine it wouldn’t be. It’s a handprint identifier.”

“ _Biological identification scan in progress.”_ No sooner did the automated voice sound off another panel dropped around Lena’s hand, locking her in place. Alex was at her side in a second, hand around her wrist as the other tried to pry the second plate aside.

“It’s stuck,” Alex turned, facing the other woman as she tried to wedge both hands between the plate and Lena’s.

“There’s something pressing against-” Lena let out a sharp gasp, her eyes going wide. “Alex- Alex get it off!”

“I’m trying!”

“ _Genetic sampling in progress.”_

“Sonuvabitch!” Lena felt as if someone knocked the wind out of her as pain lanced through her hand and up her arm. She pulled at her own hand on impulse, letting out another pained noise as Alex wedged herself between the panel and Lena and pulled out her gun. Just as she was about to pull the trigger the panel hissed, and Lena let out a grunt of discomfort with her grimmace before it split apart again. Alex immediately backed them up, gun still pointed at the panel as Lena cradled her hand to her chest.

“ _Identity confirmed. Human. Evangelena Kieran Luthor. Entrance granted, clearance level Alpha.”_

“What the fuck was that?!” Alex shouted, turning slightly to check on the woman behind her.

“Something I’m not proud of now,” Lena offered, looking at her hand and the angry swaths of skin across each of her fingers. This was why she wore black, or so the saying went, rubbing her hand against her pants to wipe away the blossoming red across each fingertip.

“Let’s just get inside before it asks for something else or someone shows up.” Alex urged, following behind Lena as she opened the door and they slipped inside. “Handprint scanner my ass. What was that?”

“It’s a sequencer, or should have been. It was… a prototype when I worked on it, and it didn’t…” Lena curled her fingers into her palm with a slight wince, the tips still tight from being punctured. “I never designed it to do that.”

Alex clicked on her flashlight, keeping her firearm out as she moved ahead in the scarcely lit corridor. She searched the walls for marks or designations until the end of the tunnel lit up all on its own. After a few seconds, there was another snap of a sound and another after another as light filled the space.

“Lena, what the hell is this place?” Alex felt an itch across the back of her hands, her stomach growing heavy as if it were filling with ever increasing lead weights.

“A containment facility,” Lena answered as they cautiously moved along. She realized they were staying on a level course, which meant the transport tunnel must be beneath them. There were a couple doors here and there but everything seemed designed to guide them towards whatever lie at the end of the tunnel.

Alex stepped out first, checking her corners before slowly easing out onto a rounded elevation with some kind of console set dead center. The rest of the facility ahead of them remained dimly lit and difficult to gather any significant details from behind its vastness.

The console hummed to life and Alex turned with the sound as Lena gave her an apologetic look, her hand placed flat on the activation panel. Lena glanced back down, fingers skimming over the controls she understood in order to  garner some kind of insight into what the hell was going on in this place.

“I don’t know what half of these mean…” she uttered to herself, tapping a few things here and there as Alex stepped closer.

 **\-------**  


“ _Director Lane we’ve lost her signal_.”

Lucy let out a breath, looking over the map where Alex’s last location had pinged from before she had just disappeared.

“Send out a second team, have then meet up with the first and head to Danvers’ last confirmed location. Get ground scanners out and drones, she shouldn’t be out of signal range.” Lucy looked at the outlying land, pinpointing a few spaces within the vast desert she recognized easily enough.

“Alpha team, do not cross into sector nine. The last thing we need is to send a flare up with the NSA right now. They’ll have more uniforms and red tape than we have time to wade through right now. Even with the President downtown.”

_“Understood sir.”_

Lucy crossed her arms over her chest, glancing at Winn as he tried to boost their systems to pinpoint Alex’s location.

“Fort Rozz was -“

“In sector nine, I know. Trust me.” Lucy looked back at the map, she had to hand it to whoever had designated that particular site as some operations depot. Or so she guessed. By the look of it, that location was nestled in between a few _supposedly_ secret government locations. Cutting it pretty damn close the more she viewed it and would almost ensure anyone’s misstep or wayward curiosity would bring the full force of specialized military forces right down on their head.

 _“_ Alpha and Bravo teams, keep it light and tight so we don’t kick the hornet’s nest _.”_

_“Understood sir.”_

“I think I’ve got something.” Winn piped up, a faint signal popping in and out along the map.

“Alex?”

“Sort of, Alex has a tendency to drop her comms.”

“Must run in the family,” Lucy noted regarding the silence that had been Kara’s comm for the past several hours.

“After Myriad, we, I put a tracker on her bike. Now it’s not great, there’s a lot of interference, but it’s a few miles up from Alex’s last location and as far as I can tell, it’s not moving.”

“So she can’t be far. Relay the location to the recovery teams, make sure there’s a rapid transport nearby. The sun’ll be up soon enough and knowing Danvers she’s gonna cut it close.”

  **\-------**

Every time Lena touched another symbol or ideogram something replaced it with one she didn’t recognize until Alex told her to stop for a second. Lena moved aside as Alex took over, confusion etching her features as she noted the ease of recognition in the other woman’s expression.

“Those are Kryptonian symbols…” Alex breathed, hands moving across the panel, tapping out those she recognized. There was a low hum before a spark of light came to life in the center of the console itself before taking some kind of physical shape that made Alex’s blood run cold.

“ _Override protocols complete. Alexandra Herington Danvers identity confirmed,”_ The modular voice shifted, rounding out to a singular tone that made the hairs on the back of Alex’s neck stand on end.

“ _Clearance level_ Ewuhshehd _…”_

Lena looked over at Alex with whatever word that was only to find the woman ramrod straight and as pale as a ghost while she stared at the projection.

“ _Hello Brave One.”_

Lena looked between the projected, towering woman and Alex as the holographic figure moved from the center of the console towards them and knelt down as if she were actually standing on it.

_“I knew you would make it here eventually, although I had expected your sis-“_

“This isn’t possible.” Alex breathed as the hologram stopped short of touching Alex, the white lightning in her hair unmistakable.

“ _It is. After the incident involving my release from your charge, I implemented some additional contingencies. One of which was this_ .” The figure gestured to herself. _“I did not, however, have the foresight to account for human ingenuity with my relocation but it is what it is.”_

“Alex who is this? What is she talking about?”

This hologram was far more advanced than the one of Alura back at the DEO. That was evident as she seemed to further solidify, giving Lena pause as she neared her out of curiosity.

_“I was General Astra, last of the house of In-Ze, I am the last of her memories and various programming algorithms combined into a near-sentient matrix-“_

“She- it’s talking about Fort Rozz.”

“ _Yes, the alien prison that now orbits the Earth’s moon.”_

Alex made a slight face, she had thought Kara had pushed it farther off than that.

“I know that place,” Lena uttered, “in my mother’s files she mentioned it, said Supergirl destroyed it.”

“ _Not quite, apparently.”_

Alex studied the two women, feeling her chest ache before she forced herself to look away.

_“It is serving now as the central ark for Sildex and the remaining agents of Cadmus.”_

“What do you mean ark?”

_“I am not at liberty to give you that information.”_

Lena appeared struck with the denial before looking at Alex who still refused to raise her eyes.

“Astra… what do you mean by ark?”

“ _When Cadmus dissolved, Sildex stepped in, with their more than adequate resources, pre-established corporate standings, and direction from Lillian Luthor, they continued the ark project.”_

“Explain the ark project, it’s purpose.”

“ _Lillian Luthor stole systems technologies and information from Fort Rozz when it crashed initially in Area Fifty-One. Utilizing this, additional stolen Kryptonian technology provided by Alexander Luthor, and other alien tech she attempted to replicate and adapt it for the ark project.”_

“Astra.” Alex raised her voice causing Lena to startle slightly. “What, in summary, is the ark project?”

“ _A purge.”_

Alex raised her head with that, holographic eyes staring right through her. “A purge of what?”

“ _All alien life on this planet_.”


	10. Chapter 10

Kara woke with a small start, the pressure of someone’s hand against her forcing her awake. She felt the instant drop of her body onto the mattress, even if it was a short distance.

“Do you always do that?” Cat questioned softly, her hand rubbing in small absent circles. Kara reached down, threading her finger through Cat’s own, stilling her motions along her abdomen before giving a small squeeze.

“Not always,” Kara allowed, rubbing at her face with her free hand before looking at Cat on the edge of her bed. “I have to be… really relaxed.”

Cat hummed with a small nod, looking to their joined hands. “I see.” She turned Kara’s hand over as if committing the lines of her fingers to memory. “They brought breakfast.”

Kara made a face, giving a small shake of her head. “Pass.”

“You have to eat something… I think.”

“I don’t _have_ to, doesn’t mean I shouldn’t.” Kara moved then, drawing her legs up to sit beside Cat, not letting go of her hand just yet. “Course there is enough sugar and calories to make up for it thanks to you.”

It was Cat’s turn to make a face glancing over at the whole of their recently acquired food inventory. If you could call it that. “Explains your choice of lunch at least.”

Kara grinned, drawing Cat’s hand up so she might place a soft set of kisses against her knuckles. “Should have guessed it would be food that brought me down.”

“Oh yes, the copious amounts of carnage that is street food and double lunches. That did it.”

Kara snickered, leaning in closer. Cat let out a quiet sigh as Kara nosed her features. “Had me worried my cape stuck out of my shirt or something.”

“You’re such a sass,” Cat whispered.

“It’s a hidden talent.” Kara breathed before leaning the rest of the way in. Cat tightened her hold on Kara’s hand, pulling her closer in order to wrap an arm around her shoulders as she kissed her back with a soft murmur of a sound.

Kara drew Cat in closer, fitting her into her lap, hands smoothing along her lower back, pulling her in further. Cat let out an amused groan of a sound, her hands pulling at Kara’s shirt before she held her back and broke away.

“You’re impossible,” Cat huffed, breathing heavily as she pushed gently at Kara’s chest to keep her at bay.

“It’s all you,” Kara whispered, leaning in again despite Cat’s push.

“We need to get out of here,” Cat uttered, allowing Kara closer before snagging her mouth and drawing her the rest of the way forward with another kiss.

Kara hummed against Cat’s mouth, taking her time to savor every contour of her lips before Cat broke away from her again and stood up. She threw Kara a wry look holding a hand out as if that alone would command her to stay.

“I _could_ have gotten us out of here before you went all resistance leader but…”

“Don’t give me that, you made it perfectly clear when we got here that was not an option.”

Kara gave the woman an amused look before standing, provoking Cat to back up further and nearly bang into the opposite wall. Kara gave a small laugh, taking the opportunity to stretch fully. Cat lifted an appreciative eyebrow as Kara’s shirt rode up along her midsection, exposing a line of skin she already felt her fingers itching to touch.

Kara stretched further until her torso shook and her shoulders popped one after the other before she let out a short-lived noise of satisfaction before squaring up again.

“That was…”

A slow smile spread over Kara’s lips before Cat looked back up.

“Impressive.”

“I just bet.” Kara teased moving towards her.

“Ok just wait, now. Honestly, Kara, I don’t know how much longer we’ll be here.” The wall aligned with her back as Kara showed no signs of stopping. “The guards are up, as is everyone else…” Kara stopped just in front of her so that the two were sharing the same air only to stretch a little further and snag two boxes of snack foods and something that was supposed to equate to a breakfast bar.

“I’m hungry,” Kara uttered, giving Cat a wink before stepping away.

Cat shook her head watching after Kara before lobbing a packaged honey bun at her. Kara caught it easily, sitting back down on her bed before unwrapping the thing and biting into it without hesitation. Kara made a show of rolling her eyes back and making an audible trill of enjoyment bordering on indecent as Cat turned on their television for something else to distract her with. She fidgeted with the channel button before making her way over and plopping beside Kara.

“Give me that.” She said with feigned annoyance before snatching the sticky bun out of Kara’s hand. She made a face at the viscosity of the sugary coating along the pastry before taking a bite much to Kara’s surprise.

“Cat Grant…” Kara said with a mock admonished tone as Cat munched away. The other woman gave a small shake of her head, pulling the icing from her thumb before looking over at Kara.

“I lived on these when I worked for Perry, so don’t Cat Grant me for having a nostalgic moment.” Cat took another small bite before offering it back to Kara who was thinking maybe they should get locked up together more often. "No one would believe you if you told them anyway." 

Kara hummed with amusement around another bite, idly wondering how long that inquisition of what it was like to be locked up with Cat Grant would last around the office. 

“ _As of an hour ago, Sildex and its subsidiaries are no more. Each of their designated facilities should be in the midst of a transition from privatized oversight to that of local law enforcement.”_

Cat furrowed her brow while Kara looked over at the TV. She saw the grainy pull back shot of a courtyard outside of LCorp where Lena Luthor was addressing the public and a large complement of the press.

“ _LCorp is currently working alongside the ICC and other organizations to provide proper legal representation and additional needs per facility for each and every-“_

Kara stood the instant she heard the explosion. Eyes trained on the TV as she tried to fine tune her hearing across the city only to bring her hands up over her ears as the alarms went off inside the jail. Kara pulled a hand away, grabbing for something inside her pillow before passing it over to Cat.

“What is-“

“Put it in and ask what’s going on.” Kara winced, realizing the origin of the blaring noise had to be posted right outside their cell to have been so loud as to be painful. The sound echoed off concrete and steel, amplifying it even more, as she clamped her hands down harder.

Cat turned the device over in her fingers, registering the shape of it before doing as Kara had directed. Kara moved away, putting herself as far from the door as she could.

“Hello? This… this is Cat Grant,” Cat looked over at Kara, fingers pressing against her opposite ear to try to drown out the alarm so she could hear if anyone responded. “Supergirl needs help.”

“Director!” Vasquez shouted pulling Lucy’s attention from her place at the war table while a few dozen signals registered with other agents and were relayed to the ops team.

“Miss Grant is on Supergirl’s comm.”

 

**\-------**

 

Alex fired another round at one of the figures dodging through the crowd, watching him crumble and slide across the ground. As soon as she saw the DEO transport skid into the courtyard, she ignored the rest and made a sprint for the dais Lena had been on.

“Lena?” She pulled herself up and over a chunk of concrete in stride, reaching what was left of the platform. “Lena!”

Her shout drew the attention of one of the attackers, as round after round pelted the broken bits of metal and stone she dove for cover. Alex waited for a break in the assault before leaning back around ready to fire only to watch J’onn pick the man up and fling him towards other DEO agents.

“... Alex…”

Alex turned back to the collapsed platform, crawling forward towards the fallen podium. As she came around, she saw Lena half pinned beneath debris; she was covered in dust and other cast off and relatively still. Alex checked what she could see for injury as she scooted closer, careful not to further compromise the unstable structure they were both on.

“This is Danvers, I need medical at the podium now.” Lena grabbed for her shirt, which Alex exchanged for her hand as she watched Lena fight for consciousness. “Hey, hey. Stay awake ok? Look at me, Lena look at me.”

"Which one of you...?" Lena squeezed her eyes shut, trying to move only to find that she couldn’t due to the heavy weight that was pressed against her lower body. She tested her limbs cautiously only to have pain lance up her calf and ricochet through the rest of her body. “My leg,” she grimaced, reaffirming her grip on Alex’s hand. “I think it’s broken…”

“That’s ok, we’ll fix it. Just don’t move ok?” Lena nodded, her eyes rolling slightly in her head before Alex grabbed for her jawline. “Lena? Lena, I need you to stay with me.”

Lena blinked slowly as she nodded, her body feeling heavy, the darkness hazing along her vision so inviting. She would just take a minute, maybe two and then everything would be fine.

“Lena... Lena!” Alex shook her as gently as possible with no response, feeling the hand in her grasp go limp. “Where the hell is medical?!”

 

**\-------**

 

Lucy stood at the center of the ops dais, looking over the screens relaying the various situations that were in play all at once. There was the underground bunker and the four other teams were working to classify and liberate the aliens that had been kept in containment, Alex and Hank with two more teams downtown at LCorp and the bombing, to the team now setting up outside the NCPD awaiting orders. Not to mention Cat Grant on their comms system, on top of all the other team leads.

“This was all pre-planned,” Lucy muttered watching the controlled chaos. “There’s no way those from the detainment center could have known Lena would do anything until she started talking this morning.”

“Meaning what sir?” Vasquez questioned as she tried to find some other camera feed from inside the detainment center along with Winn.

“She has a mole. Someone who knew exactly what she was doing. But that would only account for tomorrow, not today.”

“Signal relay,” Winn stated, isolating signal traffic from the bunker. “There’s a proximity signal that was sent out when Alex and Lena approached. If they were privy to her actions involving Sildex’s dissolvement that might have been the trigger to push the timetable up.”

“How did you figure that out?”

“I didn’t, it just came up on my screen when I was running a transmission check.”

Lucy’s brow furrowed scanning over the cams at the bunker. “Keep a tight monitor on that, I don’t want any more surprises.”

“I’m in,” Vasquez announced, sending the feed from inside the detention center to the main ops display.

“Can you move it?”

“Negative. It’s a webcam sir, I can get zoom and audio but that’s it.”

Lucy looked up at the feed, half obscured on one corner by something on the desk. What they could see however didn’t make her feel any better. A group of heavily armed and armored individuals seemed to be moving a small contingent of NCPD officers into a pen with the aliens. Those that were detained were chained to walls or various support structures with limited mobility.

“Give me audio.”

_“Barricade in place, sir. If they breach the internal doors, they’ll take themselves out and the first pen along with them.”_

_“Main entrance is secure. We have three men on guard and the non-compliant are in with the animals sir..”_

_“And LCorp plaza?”_

_“Contained. We lost two, the others are in route to run surveillance of the exterior situation.”_

_“Can you confirm kill?”_

_“Negative. Last report was Luthor went down with the second blast, caught in the debris. She was shielded by a DEO in civvies. We could not confirm the kill. Her survival is twenty percent given the blast damage.”_

_“Reroute one of our men to National City General, if she shows up alive, take her out.”_

_“Yes, sir.”_

“They have three officers in custody and two other Sildex agents. My guess is they didn’t comply or weren’t a part of this group.” Vasquez offered

“Any demands?”

“None yet, sir.”

Lucy let out a slow breath looking at Vasquez. “Find out what NCPD is doing, take over the situation at the detention center under FBI order so they don’t do anything knee jerk to get their people out. Tell Henshaw to get over there and run point. Winn?”

“Yes'm?”

“Reroute Alex and Lena here now. Henshaw can chew me out later, I don’t trust her anywhere else right now. Get the audio to James at CatCo, he’ll know how to run it without warning that group if need be and put me back on with Supergirl.”

“Good to go.”

“Miss Grant?” Silence answered her. Lucy cut her gaze to Winn who gave a shrug before checking the signal once more. “This is Director-“

“ _I’m here.”_ Kara’s voice answered instead of Cat this time which allowed Lucy to relax a little.

“Thank God. What do you know?”

“ _Not enough. We saw the news feed of LCorp, then the alarms. What do I need to do?”_

“Sit tight.”

_“Lucy-“_

“I mean it. Alex and Lena are en route here. Henshaw is on his way to NCPD. The same group from the bar are holding three officers and two of their own along with all alien detainees.”

“ _Lucy I’m right here, I can get over there-_ “

“Negative, Kara they’ve rigged the doors with explosives. They have every intention of using those alien detainees as body shields. They’ve also got other ground agents outside. I know you want to help but we have to wait. We don’t even know what they want yet.”

“ _Lucy, it’ll be too late by-_ “

“Kara. They think you’re on the outside. I need you to sit tight. If they turn on the department, I’m going to need you.” Lucy winced as the signal cut abruptly before she stripped her earpiece off. “Damn it.”

“Want me to-“

“No. I wouldn’t want to be in her position either.” Lucy sighed, looking back to the feeds scattered across the ops monitors. “I need the ETA on Danvers and Henshaw. This is only going to get worse.”

 

**\-------**

 

Kara pulled the earpiece free with a frustrated growl, leaving it on her bed so as not to crush it as she moved away. The alarms had stopped sounding but the exterior hallway lights bled under their door with a red glow. Cat remained seated, watching CatCo’s footage of the carnage at LCorp while a part of her was still reeling not only at the fact Lucy Lane was working at whatever facility Kara was working with, but that she had direct communication with said agency. She could get upset about that later, right now she needed to know what they were up against.

“How bad is it?”

Kara turned slightly, arms crossed over her chest. Cat remained calm and poised, looking at Kara with no sign of apprehension.

“The people who landed us here, have taken the detention center. They’re holding the other aliens, a few officers, and some of their own hostage but for what end or purpose they haven’t said yet.”

Cat drew in a slow breath giving a small nod. “They’re behind that attack.” Kara nodded. “And _they_ don’t want you to interfere.”

Kara shifted her jaw visibly. Lucy had a point, National City was under the belief Supergirl was on the outside. Not locked up in here and she didn’t exactly have her suit hidden away somewhere. She assumed Hank would take her place if the situation called for it but again that would be from the outside in when she was already inside.

“Not exactly. I’m… I’m supposed to be out there. If I was I might’ve helped at that press conference or I could have been there at the detention center but-”

“You’re in here, if they find out, they find out who you really are. Assuming your people take live-”

“They’re not my people, not all of them. I just, I work with them. For now.”

“For now?”

Kara let out a sigh. “They’re run by the government, sort of. Which means as long as the President agrees, her agencies agree. Mostly. There’ve been a few who didn’t-“

“Like Cadmus.”

“Exactly. I have a feeling they’re a part of this, or whatever was left when we took them down.” Kara shook her head slightly, turning towards Cat completely. “I shouldn’t even be telling you this but I really don’t care anymore.”

“Kara-“

“I’ve kept so much hidden for this greater good and what’s it gotten me? I’ve lost plenty and there’s a good chance, especially with connecting you just now, that we’ll get out of here only to spend more time apart in some underground facility to determine your threat level.”

Cat drew in a deep breath, mulling that around in her head a little. “Given who I am, I can understand that.” She watched Kara’s expression as the surprise of her statement registered. “I don’t agree but I know my reputation. I get it.”

Cat stood up slowly, approaching the other woman slowly. “I also get that you want to help. As you said, you’re already in here, so use that. We’re on lockdown, no one’s coming, use your strengths and figure it out, Kara.”

Kara let Cat’s word settle her agitation prying her glasses free as she looked over at the wall. She skimmed through the jail facility and the inner workings of the police department before settling on the detention center. She reached over for Cat who took her hand after another moment.

“What is it?”

“They’re using inhibitors on all of them. It’s why none of the aliens I recognize there have used their abilities to stop these people.”

“What else do you see?”

“There’s five, armed and wearing body armor. The department entrance has an explosive device attached to it… that’s linked to similar devices across all the pens. Lucy said it was just the one. They’ve got three men on the main entrance with heavy guns. There are a few humans in the pens, they’re unarmed and zip-tied…” Kara tipped her head, tuning her hearing through the walls towards the detention center.

“They want some kind of armored transport. Three hours or they start sending out bodies.”

Cat swore under her breath, watching Kara come back into herself with a blink and a shrug.

“They know I’m somewhere out there. I heard one say if they see me coming they’ll just start shooting.”

“Is there any way you can disable that device or the inhibitors? Give those people some kind of chance?”

Kara thought back to when she had brought that very tech to the NCPD, right after Barry’s visit. “I’d have to get in there…”

“If they see you, they’ll know who you are. Not to mention you’d have to break out of here to do it. NCPD isn’t going to just let you try. There'd be no way to conceal your identity after.”

“There’s nothing in here to even make a cake suit out of to try.” Kara started, plucking at her shirt a bit. 

Cat looked around, in search of something, anything that might give them some kind of advantage.

“You could make a distraction,” Kara looked over at the other woman, “maybe get medical in here and I could-”

“They’ll have you against the wall.” Cat countered. “You try to break free, they’ll have you in another cell.”

Kara let out a huff of a breath. She moved across the small space to sit on her bed again, looking at the news footage of the NCPD building and other reports from LCorp. She knew a few ways she could hope to get in there but the instant she used any of her abilities beyond flight they would know.

“I can’t just sit here.”

Cat looked over the built-in shelves, her gaze falling on a particular indulgence she had purchased for the other woman if nothing else but to use to pass the time.

“Can you really get over there without getting caught?”

“I think so…”

“Thinking isn’t going to help anyone. You either know or you stay put.”

“If I can get there, I can help.”

Cat looked over at Kara once more, searching her features for any doubt. “Next question. Can you make it back? No point in risking yourself or those other people if we have to explain why Kara Danvers isn’t in here anymore when she was before the lockdown.”

Kara rubbed at her face, running a multitude of scenarios over in her mind. If she could get Winn to hack into Sildex’s systems and disable the inhibitor controls she would at least have backup. Assuming those that were detained didn’t just try to break out, or panic. Kara reached for the earpiece beside her before looking up at Cat and putting the thing back in her ear.

“Winn…?” Kara waited, not hearing a response as Cat observed her. “Winn I need your help.” Again she waited, searching the space between her and the other woman until she heard the faintest change in the signal before it cut to silence again.  Her brow furrowed as the frequency shifted again until her brain caught up with what was happening.

“Winn, I need you to target the inhibitor’s in the detention center and shut them down.” Kara listened to the small blips of frequency before speaking again. “An hour… can you do it?” Kara waited, translating the frequency-based morse code Winn was speaking to her in. “Anything goes wrong, send out a signal I can hear without a comm.”

Kara heard the affirmation in the frequency before pulling the earpiece from her ear. A split second later she caught the object that Cat lobbed her way, turning it over in her hands.

“I have an idea,” Cat allowed, holding up at least three more palettes.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the time it took to post this... real life can be a pain in the ass sometimes and this past couple of weeks was no exception

Kara sat as still as she could, head tilted back, eyes closed and shirtless. The wet feathering against her skin was driving her crazy, if for no other reason than wishing it was under different circumstances.

Cat sat opposite her on the lower bunk, trying to make every bit of paint last as she covered Kara’s skin. If she couldn’t go in as Supergirl, why not disguise her as another alien altogether?

There was no guarantee it would even stay put but with enough luck and determination, it just might work to get by. Cat swirled the larger paintbrush she had made out of three small ones and a rubber band in a cup of water, rinsing it out enough before making broad strokes along Kara’s throat and over the flat of her chest.

She was deliberate in her lines, blending the mixture of colors already painted on down into the would be exposed portions of Kara’s skin once her shirt was back in place.

“Never told me you were a painter,” Kara murmured, tipping her head further back with the small touch to her chin.

“You don’t get where I am without picking up a few things, especially when it comes to art design.” Cat nudged Kara’s features this way and that, blending and touching up here and there. “Ok turn around and tip your head back.”

Kara let out a small sigh, it wasn’t a bad idea. It was a great one all things considered but this part she hadn’t been looking forward to. She felt Cat’s weight on the mattress behind her as she let her head fall back and waited. The start of the viscous mixture Cat had made was poured against her hairline before the track of a brush was pulled through the strands. Cat continued to brush the mixture tinted with paint through Kara’s hair, blending the much darker color throughout into a more natural fade towards her lighter ends.

“I think that’s the best we’re going to get.”

Kara moved off the bed, standing as far away as she could in the event of cast off before whirling about until everything was dry. When she stopped Cat was still on her bed, hands splotched with bits of paint just looking at her.

Even mocked up to look like something otherworldly Cat still found the woman underneath the disguise breathtaking. Granted, there was an advantage that Kara’s disguise could be washed off Cat still marveled at the sensation of her emotions and their focal point.

“Well?”

Cat tipped her head, running over Kara’s features, trying to remain focused on the paint job instead of those and on display for her at the moment.

“As long as no one hits you with a water gun I think you’ll pass.”

Kara moved her face, making exaggerated expressions to ensure the stretch of paint before reaching for her shirt and carefully pulling it on.

“You don’t sweat... much.” Cat mused, standing up to help Kara with the neckline. “That’ll help too.” Cat pulled the other woman’s hair free, wondering if Kara could even dye her hair and what she might look like with any other color beyond the purplish blue she had mixed.

“How, exactly, are you going to get over there?”

Kara took a deep breath with that, what she intended she had only experimented with a little and hoped she could master what little she had attempted enough for this to work. Even if she got stuck, she should be able to break free. Assuming nothing got stuck inside her.

“You remember Barry?”

“That little red blur? How could I forget?” He had helped rescue her from Banshee and Livewire.

“Well, he taught me something. I haven’t really trained with it, which I realize now I should have but-“

“Do you have any idea what you’re doing?” Cat questioned, watching Kara’s confidence wilt a little. “I’m not trying to discourage you, I’m just… I can’t break down walls or even help you. You’re on your own with this Kara. You have to be sure. Otherwise you… those other people, if they’re not willing to fight or if they panic.”

Cat pulled Kara to her a bit with a tug on her shirt. “They could get hurt, or worse and I…”

Kara watched Cat’s eyes cloud over, hiding behind her walls almost on instinct. “Cat?”

“You have no idea what those men may have waiting in there, they know, to some degree, what they’re up against and how to combat it.” Cat whispered, swallowing hard. “I need you to come back to me, okay?”

Kara studied Cat carefully, reaching up to caress her face as if she might soothe her apprehension. “I promise.”

Cat nodded against her touch, grabbing hold of her hand before placing a kiss against her palm. “Your hour’s up. Get going.”

Kara reluctantly moved aside backing up as far as she could before taking a deep breath. Cat stood aside, unsure of what to expect as she held her breath and waited. Kara glanced over at her one last time, sending a wink her way before narrowing her vision down to a molecular level passing through layer after layer of solidity to find her focal point.

After another second she turned that focus on herself, triggering a friction-like response in her body similar to shivering on a subatomic level. The instant she felt her own molecular density shift she moved.

If Cat had blinked, she would have missed it, watching Kara seem to phase within her surroundings only to become a blur and then nothing. She rushed forward with a gasp, hand impacting the wall where Kara most likely had disappeared through.

It felt as if Kara were pushing through a glue-like viscous fluid, tunneling across the prison and into the detention center faster than the eye could follow. She altered her course just enough to phase back into existence within the far corner of one pen.

For anyone around her she just seemed to appear, huddled within the surround of other aliens a few of which found her hands over their mouths to keep from drawing attention.

One of the guards started to turn before another alien kicked at the pen wall across the way. Guns turned on the defiant alien who immediately argued that her leg had cramped and she was just trying to ease the pain.

“Try anything and I’ll show you what pain is!”

Kara glanced over, recognizing the horned alien as the one she had painted. Conveying her gratitude before looking at those immediately around her.

“I’m going to need your help,” she whispered, watching the guards across the way.

“Help? Look lady I dunno how you got here, but you picked the wrong place to hide.”

“Listen to me, any second those inhibitors are going to power down. We need to stop these guys, any way we can.”

“You’re insane.” Another one chimed in before the band on his wrist turned from red to orange.

Kara looked around, watching the bands go offline. A few of the inmates hid their arms, as others just looked confused. Any second the guards would notice and on an effort to keep her advantage she pushed to a stand.

“GET DOWN!”

Kara prayed her outcry would warn anyone close enough to protect themselves or spur them to action. A half second later she slammed her hands together, sending a shock wave towards the nearest guard before racing through the pen and unbolting every inmate’s collared chain.

The sound of gunfire followed her as did the ricochet of bullets against her back before Kara spun around, closing the distance before she grabbed the muzzle of the still firing weapon and threw its wielder backward into the nearest chain-link wall. Hands and arms broke through the chain-link, grabbing for the man to hold him still as he struggled and called for backup.

Two of the three men guarding the door turned, weapons aimed and ready to fire. A hail of bullets littered the ceiling as another alien just appeared between them, having pushed their weapons upward before disappearing again.

“Sir! We have gunfire from inside.”

Hank turned from the makeshift situation table he was at before giving the next set of orders.

“Clear the NCPD side, they might trigger the bomb. Alpha team breach!”

“ _Henshaw what’s going on? We can’t see inside anymore.”_ Lucy’s voice was on edge in his ear.

“False pretenses. We’ve got reports of gunfire from inside… they may have turned on the inmates while we focused on securing their demands. I’m headed in now.”

Another woman surrounded the pen she was in with some kind of iridescent wall as another line of bullets were suspended in the shield. Others within the pen worked to free the NCPD officers that had been taken captive. In another pen, someone made a void in the chain link allowing those inside to rush out. Some took to hiding, others moving to adjoining pens to force them open and free those within them. All while the one who could seemingly teleport continued to nudge and push and shove at the two guard's weapons to keep them from hitting anyone.

The third Sildex guard manning the door abandoned the post, waiting for the right moment to fire between the other two hoping to hit the teleporting alien the second he appeared. His legs buckled beneath him as someone wrapped around his waist to keep him from firing again as others grabbed for the fallen teleporter and more rushed the two he had been entangled with.

“STEVENS BLOW THE DOOR!”

The named man holding the detonator was knocked to the ground, turning over on his back as a group of inmates struggled to get a hold of him or the device before he held it up over his head and pressed the button with a loud squelch of a sound.

Kara stood stock still, having made a dash for the bomb to try to wrap herself around it only to come up short, some people took cover others threw up shields or literally became them as they waited for the explosion that never came.

“I can’t… hold it… forever,” Felryn stood just inside the would be blast area, hands out, clawing at the air as the bomb against the doors appeared stuck in some kind of exaggerated slow motion. Shouts came from the entrance as aliens who had been subduing their captors held up their hands or dropped to their knees on the floor.

Kara heard Hank’s unmistakable voice before shouting that he had to get everyone out. She felt a hand on her arm a second after and shrugged it off, moving to intercept the D.E.O. agent who was headed for Felryn.

“If you stop her, you’re dead. She’s the only thing keeping that from-”

“Jameson stand down, help get these people out of here,” Hank ordered before relaying the situation to the others over comms, eyeing Kara and the paint job that worked so long as someone wasn’t as close as he was now. “How long-”

“Maybe… another minute… give or take,” Felryn growled, her strength waning and before she started to falter. Kara moved on instinct and grabbed her from behind, holding her up before looking over at Hank.

“Not enough time,” Hank warned as agents tries to file everyone out as quickly and orderly as they could with help from the Sildex officers who had been held captive.

“What happens if someone tries to interfere with it like that?” Kara asked, keeping Felryn upright.

“I dunno... never held something like this... for this long.” The woman made a friend of effort, her whole body shaking with effort and Kara swore the woman might actually combust with how warm she was getting in her grasp.

“Hank… hold her up.”

The man moved over, trading places with Kara as lines of black trailed down Felryn’s face from her nose.

“I need a shield, anyone, please.”

“I can do it.” The woman who had put up the wall around a pen moved forward and on Hank’s order let her through.

“When I say… put one up right here.” Kara gestured in front of Felryn before stepping just past her makeshift line in the sand.

“Supe- whatever your name is, what’re you doing?”

“Just... trust me…” Kara pleaded with her eyes, wishing just this once that the man could read her mind.

“Please.” She knew she could withstand the blast, it wasn’t laced with Kryptonite and the rest of the explosion would just be collateral damage to the building, assuming she could minimize the explosion. “She doesn’t have much longer and neither do we.”

Reluctant as he was Hank knew he could phase Felryn through his body before doubling his physical mass to withstand the blast if Kara failed but not enough to shield those still being unchained and guided out no matter how fast his team moved. He glanced to the woman beside him who gave him a nod.

“Do it.”

Kara nodded, shaking out her hands as she watched the explosion starting to speed up again. “On three…”

Kara moved closer, her enhanced vision allowing her to see the edge of space Felryn was manipulating.

“One…”

Felryn let out another growl, her full weight falling into Hank’s grasp.

“Two…”

The other woman started to build the shield wall, slowly expanding it out across the floor. Ready to arc it forward and around the blast area and the woman approaching what looked like a supernova erupting in slow motion towards them.

“Three!” Felryn collapsed into unconsciousness as the other woman wrapped the space ahead of them in a bubble-like wall. Kara sucked in all the air she could, advancing into the last split second of manipulated time space just as the explosion met her in real time.

There was a blinding flash amidst a blast wave of sub-zero air against the explosion that met her in real time. Ice and debris were scatter-shot about, filling the inner space and obscuring any hope of seeing Kara or anything else while bits and pieces of metal, plastic and other indiscernible fragments lodged into the shieldwall violently.

“ _Henshaw...? Hank!? What’s happened? We heard-”_

“An explosion…” Hank cradled Felryn’s body as he and the other woman looked on while the dust settled with no sign of Kara. “We’re clear… I need the D.E.O. at ready and medical prepped. We’re bringing everyone here to you.”

“ _Yes, sir.”_

“Where is she?” The woman to Hank’s right gradually eased down, dropping her shield completely with the cacophony of snagged debris hitting the floor.

“I don’t know.” It wasn’t exactly a lie, but it wasn’t the truth either. Hank adjusted his grip on Felryn, nodding for the other woman beside him to follow the approaching agent. “We’ll find her, for now we need to go. There could be other devices we don’t know about.”

Kara smacked into the far wall of her cell, dropping to her knees a second after only to have Cat rush up behind her to keep her from falling back.

“Kara!” Cat saw the wrap of scorch marks along the other woman’s sides but as Kara leaned back the remaining tatters of her clothes threw Cat into a wave of panic. “Oh my god…”

“They’re… they’re ok…” Kara let herself settle into Cat’s lap, shaking her head as she made sure to move and clench her hands to ensure she wasn’t still phasing through things before reaching for the other woman to ground herself.

Cat reached over, turning on the sink as she stripped her own shirt off to soak it. Kara shook involuntarily against her legs before she wrung out what she could before smoothing out across Kara’s face.

“What happened? I saw the footage but-“

“They helped… they all helped.” Kara breathed, relishing in the cool streak of water and cloth against her skin. She held onto Cat’s forearm like an anchor feeling her body settle back into itself before she completely relaxed.

Cat bent over her, breathing new life into both of them as she kissed Kara until the woman broke away for air moments later.

“Are you all right?” Cat whispered as Kara pushed further up into her lap giving a series of nods as she caressed the side of Cat’s face from her upside down position.

“Better now,” Kara pulled Cat back down, kissing her soundly before easing back down into her waiting lap. “I’m… not sorry.”

“I know.” Cat whispered, sitting back further to finish wiping the paint off Kara’s skin as best she could. Her mind wandering off into the depths of if this was how Lois felt on a daily basis. Cat had already felt the pangs of concern for Supergirl’s well being during any encounter before she and Kara had gotten closer in their friendship.

This was the difference. The suspecting versus the actual knowing. Before Cat could separate the two, holding on to a motion that Kara was okay even if Supergirl was getting pummeled into the stratosphere. Once Kara had confirmed those suspicions it had been a little more difficult watching the woman off saving the world from afar but again, that was still wrapped around the concept of the two women just being friends.

It was an altogether different level of worry now that she and Kara had crossed that kind of relationship racing headlong into something more. Her mind conjured up countless scenarios based on prior incidents and future what ifs, questioning how many more would result in the two of them like this and how many others might end up-

“Cat?”

Kara’s voice broke her train of thoughts and with a blink she realized her eyes were glassy and unfocused.

“I’m just... relieved everyone is all right.”

Kara pushed up after another moment, turning around as she brought her legs up under herself taking even more time to study the woman in front of her.

The two stared at each other for a long series of heartbeats before Kara wavered forward only to hesitate, unsure if she would just be satisfied with kissing the other woman now that her adrenaline was easing down. Cat’s fingertips caressed her lips tentatively, as if reading her mind before curling under her chin and pulling Kara the rest of the way forward.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Inspiration ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8t7wmtCiOc)

Alex sat in the far corner of the room, looking at Lena’s vitals where they were displayed on the monitors beside her. The dim light from the medical halo surrounding her prone form gave Alex little comfort. The other woman hadn’t regained consciousness since they had transferred her to the D.E.O.

Luckily she hadn’t broken anything, despite Lena’s initial self-assessment, but her body still bore evidence of having been just shy of ground zero from the primary explosion. In all honesty, the woman shouldn’t even be alive, much less in one piece all things considered. When she woke up Alex would have to make sure to ask about that.  Out of everything suddenly weighing on her shoulders it was the one least likely to cause a headache and given the chaos still on motion just beyond the glass partitions it was also the quietest place she had found. 

“Winn, why didn’t you tell us about Kara’s plan? What if those men had Kryptonite or some other method of containment waiting for her? You could have gotten those-“

“You knew she wasn’t just going to sit in that cell. Hell, even Miss Grant knew that!”

Lucy straightened at his outburst, glancing to Hank who merely crossed his arms over his chest. 

“How would you know that? Was she on the comm again?”

Winn turned and pulled up one of the last images from the webcam they had before someone had knocked it over, showcasing Kara in all her painted glory.

“You don’t think she came up with that all by herself do you?”

Lucy shifted her jaw, mimicking Hank’s pose absently before glancing around the room. 

“Has Supergirl come back up on comm yet?”

Winn shook his head. “No, can I go now?”

Lucy glanced to Hank who gave a small nod before she waved Winn off. “Don’t leave, we still need your help with the systems for our newest-“

“I’m gonna go get something to eat, I promise I won’t be far.” His tone was sharp and his posture stiff as he walked away. Hank let out a small sigh, stepping closer to Lucy. 

“He means well, he still has trust issues with a lot of this and Kara is one of his best friends. I had an idea she might try something, just not so… blatant.”

“Did you know she could walk through walls?”

Hank smirked. “What? Like it’s hard?”

Lucy rolled her eyes before inconspicuously glancing towards the medical bays. 

“Any change?” 

Lucy shook her head. “Her vitals are stronger, but she’s not awake yet. She might not be for a while, she was right there when they went off.” Lucy could still see the images in her mind's eye and swore Lena was dead the instant the first bomb went off. 

“We’ve watched the footage over and over, whatever they used involved that cloaking tech the Kryptonians had with Myriad.”

Hank nodded, his own curiosity rising while he glanced over far less subtle than Lucy had. “And Alex?”

“Barely moved. Even when Kara pulled what she did, she told us to have a little hope and went right back to where she is now.”

Hank drew in a deep breath, trying to tune out the rampant surge of Alex’s thoughts as he looked at her with little success. He caught images of Astra and some kind of rendezvous after the woman had been released from their custody the first time before those images were awash with Lena and the explosions on repeat. 

“Any word from-“

“The President is going to make another statement from the oval office. She’s offering full pardons to those detained in the Sildex facilities who qualify and conditional release for the others. Including those from the bar on both sides.”

Lucy gave a nod, realizing they had ten times as much work now given the detainee files they had gotten from LCorp and the other Sildex operations. 

“ICC put out a written statement in light of this event. Apparently, with their donations and LCorp’s re-appropriation of those places, they’re going to turn them all into sanctuary shelters. At least those whose cities approve of the change and close the others or convert them to whatever stipulations were set out otherwise.”

Lucy looked back over at Hank studying him for a long moment before drawing in a deep breath. “What about Fort Rozz?”

“I’ve got a team ready.”

Lucy eyed the man and his somber shift raising a high eyebrow at him. He smiled faintly, hearing the ‘but’ in his head without having to use his powers. 

“There're conditions, and one of them is sitting in the other room.” 

“Meaning?”

“The alien technology that the bunker facility utilized is coded to Alex. It was a fail-safe the previous overseer put into place.” Hank tried to remain as general as he could without outright saying Astra’s holographic matrix is only willing to work with one maybe two of them. “It’s cooperating now, but one of the conditions for our transport to the prison ship for retrieval was Danvers.” 

Lucy furrowed her brow, looking back over at Alex where she still sat in medical. “Haven’t we had enough trial and error with rogue AI systems? That sounds like a demand I’m not so sure we should accommodate.” 

“As apt as I am to agree, in this instance I’m not so certain we have much of a choice. We have no idea how many they’ve sent up there, their condition or any other factor first hand. That AI is providing some information but I’m not going to be satisfied until I know. In order to get that, we need Alex.”

 

**\-------**

 

Kara idly listened to the low hum of voices coming across their cell from the embedded TV within the wall. The immediate lockdown had been lifted but tensions were still high enough to warrant cell confinement which was nothing new for the two women. 

Cat’s fingers were idly threading through her hair, nails lightly dragging across her scalp before feathering through the length of it. They were both settled on Kara’s bunk, Cat pressed into a corner with a poor excuse for a pillow behind her back and Kara stretched out with her head in the woman’s lap. 

Neither had spoken much beyond a comment or two on the news reports as if starting any in-depth conversation would invite the outside world and all of its weight into them before they were ready for it. Then again, simply waiting to be discharged, which had the potential to come at any moment, wasn’t exactly the best coping mechanism either. 

The weight was already creeping in, pulling at Kara’s insides and bearing down on Cat’s shoulders. The continued silence between the volume of their thoughts only furthered that reality. 

Cat looked away from the small screen, watching her fingers as they closed through Kara’s hair, wondering if moments such as this could be had between them in the spaces between the lives waiting for them beyond that steel door. Would it be this effortless and willingly or would her old habits and self-doubts fill the time in-between?

Kara felt the tension in Cat’s touch, allowing it to add to her own apprehension about it all. It was one of the reasons she hadn’t put the comm back in; she wanted more time and yet she wanted out just as much. She pulled in a deep breath, her vision hazing around the television screen before she shifted enough to look up at the other woman. 

Cat smiled softly, genuinely, it was a rare thing to see. One Kara could count on one hand but this time felt far more important than any other. 

“Want to talk about it?” Cat asked quietly, watching Kara’s eyes search over her features for a long moment. 

“Not really.”

“Honest answer.” 

Kara smirked wryly, a fleeting motion of amusement before seeking out Cat’s other hand and pulling it to her chest within the tangle of her own fingers. She flexed her fingers around Cat’s own, looking over the differences between them, the life in the lines of her skin versus the lack of that same evidence along her own. It was an odd juxtaposition given how Kara was actually older and only mirrored the current situation of wanting to get out of their cell and stay locked up in it. 

“I want to ask something, a lot of something's…”

Cat flexed her fingers around Kara’s own, thumb rubbing firmly across the inside of the other woman’s forefinger. “But?” 

“I just want this for a little longer before everything else comes rushing in. Whatever this-” 

“We don’t have to define it,” Cat interjected gently, not as a means to discourage so much as to offer a little bit of hope for whatever might happen when they weren’t sharing a space for countless hours. 

“I know,” Kara whispered, drawing Cat’s hand up to place a kiss across the back of it. 

“We’ve both… been dancing around each other for a while now.” Cat allowed, watching Kara intently. “It’s not exactly a U-Haul but-“

“You are not making a lesbian joke right now.” 

Cat hummed out an amused note at the muffled sentiment spoken against her knuckles. “Not exactly, all things considered, had this not happened it might’ve been another year before we got even this far.”

Kara let out another sobering breath at that. “You _did_ accept the invitation.”

Cat nodded. “You finally asked.”

“You could have.”

“I know and were you anyone else I would have and you might have said yes but I don’t think either of us would have known where we actually stood with one another because of it.”

“Because we’re on such solid standing now.” 

Cat stretched her fingers, signaling Kara to release her before Cat moved enough so that Kara was out of her lap before stretching out on her side against the other woman. She waited for Kara to focus on her and when even more precious second went by, she reached over and touched her chin, provoking her to turn her features so that they were looking at one another. 

They stared for a long moment at one another, even as Kara’s eyes reddened and turned glassy. Before she could look away Cat leaned over her, placing the tenderest of kisses against those impossibly soft lips. 

“Can I keep you?” Cat whispered, pulling a sharp breath from Kara in response before fingers tangled into her hair and drew her back in. 

Even if the kiss itself wasn’t deep and all-encompassing, the intensity behind it was enough to make Cat’s heart ache. It almost felt like a goodbye, a kind of acquiescence to some predetermined fate neither of them could escape. 

“I…” Kara words knotted in her throat, even as Cat nosed at her features and fanned her hand across the flat of her chest as if to hold her heart in her palm. An attempt to soothe the fear mounting around it of one more thing to lose. “There’s so much I want to say, that I should have said before and-“

“You will,” Cat promised without saying the word. “I don’t want this to just stop, for it all to have been some fleeting moment between us Kara. If I wanted that I would have taken you over my desk after the first few months.”

Kara’s cheeks flushed red at the confession, Cat’s raised eyebrow daring her to challenge the truth of her words. She searched the other woman’s gaze trying to find the lie before sweeping her fingers across Cat’s lips. 

“Tease.”

“The best.” 

Kara smiled faintly, eyes darting down as Cat caught her thumb in the vice of her teeth for a brief moment before letting her go. “No promises, because we’ll both have obligations when we’re out of here…”

“But?”

“Will you go out on a date with me? A real date, it doesn’t have to be public or even dinner just-“

“Yes. I will go on a real date with you Kara, but only…”

Kara held her breath eyes lifting back up in anticipation. 

“Only if you’ll go on a date with me. Not fair if you’re the only one asking.”

Kara smiled fully, watching Cat’s own blossom by contagion.

 _“My fellow Americans…”_ Before she could answer the television across the room pulled both their attention as Olivia appeared from within the oval office. 

_“In the wake of recent events, I feel it is my duty to put an end to this division across our nation right now. Regardless of political standing or affiliation, knowing it may very well cost me this seat I hold so dear. I can no longer sit idly by while others see fit to take matters into their own hands and undermine the basic fundamentals of this country and its creed.”_

Kara sat up slowly with Cat right behind, content to wrap herself around Kara as they focused on the President. 

_“I would like to start by first issuing my sincerest condolences to those who’ve been injured and for the loss of life that has occurred on my watch. Second, I am extending a full pardon to those who’ve been wrongfully persecuted and made to suffer through no more fault than not being of this planet. To those involved in the attack on the Alien Bar in National City, those civilians on both sides, I extend additional exoneration's and conditional release arrangements in the hopes we can all work together despite our difference to reach some semblance of understanding between the two.”_

Cat wrapped her arms around Kara’s shoulders, smoothing her hands along the flat of her chest and hugging herself closer as Olivia continued. Kara pressed back against the other woman, nuzzling against the side of her features where they fit over her shoulder. 

“How long do you give it?” Kara whispered as Olivia outlined some kind of executive order she was putting in place along with a push for additional legislation.

“For us? We’ll be on the police department steps in an hour knowing Olivia,” Cat murmured against Kara’s ear, arms still holding firmly around the other woman. 

Kara reached up, circling Cat’s forearm with her fingers as she watched, giving a careful squeeze. With the clattering sound of metal grinding together the two separated reluctantly. Cat remaining on the bed while Kara stood and moved aside. 

“Grant, Danvers… let’s go.”


	13. Chapter 13

Kara sat along one bench, a large plastic bag in hand with her name and information scrawled across it. She glanced up towards the desk where Cat stood, filling out the last form for her own items before they were handed over. The cacophony of noise just beyond the main doors was almost deafening and police presence had been amplified almost threefold because of it amidst everything else.

The sharp staccato of Cat’s heels pulled her attention back and with a slow inward breath, Kara stood. Cat offered her arm wordlessly in the next second, hand opening to the small circlet of items in her grasp for Kara to take. The corner of Kara’s mouth lifted unbidden as she tucked her bag under her arm before taking the items and moving to fit them into place.

Cat watched as Kara locked her bracelet around one wrist before taking up her other arm by the hand in order to latch her watch. Kara pulled her easily, turning Cat around with the momentum before drawing a necklace up across her chest.

“This isn’t-“

“It’s mine. Hold on to it for me?”

Cat fingered the small pendant, turning it over in her fingers before carefully tucking it under her shirt as Kara fixed her collar. She was instantly aware of flashbulbs and the calls just beyond the door a few feet away while Kara looked apologetic at the possibility of someone having caught that little moment on camera.

“I don’t care.” Cat allowed, ignoring the mob outside as she looked to the other woman.

“I thought your lawyers-“

“They’re waiting in back, which is where they were hoping we’d leave.”

Kara smirked giving a small shake of her head as she glanced to the doors once more. “Even I know better.”

Cat hummed in approval, pulling at the crisp, paint dried fabric of her shirt before turning towards the entrance. “Come on.”

The instant the doors opened it was a madhouse; reporters, cameras, microphones, protestors, and anti-protestors pushed forward to get a piece of the two women emerging from the building.

The officers outside formed a broader wall, keeping the groups separate while allowing Kara and Cat to move. After the first few feet, there was a break in the wall and the instant Kara felt Cat’s hand slip out of her own she responded on instinct. She heard the call of her name from Cat’s lips before ducking down and pushing into the breach without remorse only to grab Cat around the waist and pull her closer.

Officers surrounded them a second after, who immediately demanded that the crowd back up unless they wanted the full Grant experience. Kara stayed right behind Cat, who leaned back against her while Kara acted like her own personal barricade.

Hank stood across the street with Lucy beside him, watching Kara maneuver the two of them through the throng even with the surround of NCPD until she caught sight of Hank.

“Now we move.” Hank offered, sending a calming wave forward which almost seemed as if someone turned down the universal volume. Kara nudged Cat in their direction until they were free of the larger groups and side by side, albeit reluctantly.

Lucy was at Cat’s other side, ignoring the growing trail of reporters nipping at their heels while Hank stuck to Kara. It wasn’t until they fit between two SUVs that the two women let their hands fall away from each other.

Lucy held the door for Cat while Hank directed Kara to the other car. Both women spoke volumes in a single look before Cat edged into the vehicle and disappeared.

Hank gestured for Kara to move, suppressing his abilities and for good reason. He above all others knew the kind of thoughts Cat had running around in her mind when it came to her former assistant and now was certainly no exception.

“She’ll be all right. She’s more worried about you right now.” Hank offered as Kara opened the door for herself as Hank rounded the vehicle and slipping into the driver’s seat.

Cat’s car pulled away first, Hank close behind until they reached the next intersection. Kara turned just enough to see Cat in the rear driver side of the SUV, watching as Cat placed a kiss to her fingertips before pressing them against the window. Kara gave a small nod, rubbing at the flat of her own chest before her car turned, leaving Cat and Lucy behind.

 

**\-------**

 

The barest murmur of a whine pulled Alex’s head up, the rest of her body kicking in as she pushed to a stand and crossed the room until she was beside Lena’s bed. She glanced at the monitors, watching a few levels elevate while others smoothed out or remained relatively untouched.

“Hey…” she started softly, adjusting the lighting of the surrounding medical halo along with the angle of the bed.

Lena reached back, hands grabbing for the bed as she pushed only to feel every muscle in her body protest at the same time.

“Whoa, slow down. You’ve been unconscious for hours-“

“Is anything broken?”

“No, but you’ve got some pretty deep bruises and a few minor-“

“Then… I’m fine.” Lena argued, biting back the sensation of pain running roughshod through her body as she pushed herself to sit until Alex’s hand pressed against her chest.

“You’re not fine.” Alex almost growled and the rigid tone gave Lena pause.

It was only now she realized the other woman hadn’t changed clothes, merely pulled a light jacket over and zipped it clear up to her neck. She caught hints of scratches torn into Alex’s skin across her hands and a flocking of debris in her hair.

“You could have, no let me correct that, you  _should_  have died. That second explosion went off less than ten feet from where you were standing.”

“So I got lucky.” Lena bit back, mostly from pain and to conceal the fact that she had been staring.

“Luck had nothing to do with it. I know you’re not Supergirl either so spill it.”

“You first.” Lena countered, letting her arms give out as she settled against the bed, noting Alex’s hand and where it remained against her.

“What are you talking-“

“I know this isn’t a hospital or an FBI facility, just like I know you’re not really one of their agents.”

Alex straightened slightly, but she didn’t counter the point being made despite how much she should have.

“My brother is Superman enemy number one and my mother is the D.E.O.’s. Despite the things they have kept from me, this place and these people were not one of them.”

“These people…” Alex curled her hand away almost as if Lena had burned her. Tucking it behind her back and strangling her opposite wrist with the motion.

“We’re not exactly at any level of anything significant. I understand that, just like I understand why you wouldn’t tell me who you really worked for. However, if you’re going to push my issue, it seems only fair to level the board.”

Alex swallowed thickly, unsure where to go or what to say that wouldn’t seem combative under Lena’s scrutiny. She gave a small nod after another minute as if deciding something for herself before speaking again in a quieter tone. “This isn’t a game of chess.”

Lena cut her eyes up to the other woman, feeling that comment on a whole other level as she shifted her jaw instead of speaking.

“You have no reason to trust me, especially now, but I know what I’m talking about and regardless of where either of us come from, our intentions speak louder than whatever this is right now.” Alex reached over to the monitor, pulling up Lena’s scans and adjusting the readout.

Lena glanced over, taking inventory of all the points of injury outlined across her scan before turning her gaze elsewhere.

“You’re alive, thank God,” Lena looked over at Alex with a blink at that. “But you are not invincible and a public platform isn’t the same as a controlled field test.” Alex tried to keep the emotion out of her voice, but the sudden vision of Supergirl walking into the main operations hub alongside Hank only added to the intensity of everything that had happened in such a short time.

Lena followed her gaze with a wince, taking in the sight, feeling a bit of wind knocked out of her for it. Supergirl was important to Alex, not just because they worked together either. That much was evident in the other woman’s body language and yet, by all accounts, Alex hadn’t left her side.

“As far as we know, the Sildex threat is contained, but there may still be stragglers and plenty of others who would do just about anything to get to you right now. Given your stance today, I wouldn’t put the option past your own family, again.”

“What are you trying to say?”

Alex drew in a deep breath, clearing the screen back to the standard layout before looking back to Lena. “Right now you’re safer here.”

“Safer here, or safer with you?”

Alex felt her chest tighten with her next breath, her answer dying in her throat as Hank made his way into the room.

“Agent Danvers.” The command of the man’s tone pulled at Alex’s spine and she gave a small nod, casting another fleeting look at Lena before moving around her bed towards the director.

Lena watched after her, paying close attention to the hug she exchanged with Supergirl before the two women moved away with Hank’s guidance.

“I thought I jettisoned that thing into the sun.” Kara started once they were alone.

“That might’ve been your intention but your momentum fell short. It’s been determined that while you managed to get it off this planet, upon doing so it re-engaged its engines and moved here.”

Hank gestured to the display on the wall screen showing Fort Rozz’s current location on the far side of the moon. “We didn’t pick it up because it didn’t want us to.”

“ _It_ didn’t...” Kara looked even more confused “So Non lied.”

“Not exactly.”

Kara looked between Alex and Hank, realization dawning. “What don’t I know?”

“First, how are you?” Hank asked genuinely. “That maneuver you pulled back at the detention center-“

“Something I’m still working on. I’ll explain later, right now I need to know what’s going on and why you needed me here like this so badly instead of letting me go with-”

“It’s Astra.” Even Hank shot a look at Alex with that reveal, having wanted to ease Kara into that but of information gently.

“Astra… my… but she’s…” Kara looked as if the wind had been sucker punched out of her and Alex stepped closer to offer her a steady grasp of something to hold on to. “She’s alive?”

Alex’s brow furrowed, and she glanced at Hank who merely shook his head at her. She ripped the band-aid off, now she had to deal with the fallout.

“Not… exactly. If nothing else, Astra was a strategist. I think she knew there was no stopping Myriad or Non despite her being in charge. She mentioned putting things into motion after-“

“The Black Mercy.”

Alex gave a small nod, holding onto Kara’s arm as she reeled.

“Wait, you spoke to her? How?”

Alex drew in a deep breath. “She was the one who told us about Fort Rozz, or her hologram did.”

“Where, when?”

“Lena and I found Sildex’s base.”

“Lena Luthor? _The_ Lena Luthor just happened to-“

“Yes. When we got there, Astra’s projection told us what they had been doing.”

“Wha… I… I don’t understand. How did Astra even-“

“Strategist.” Alex pushed as Kara tried to fit all the pieces together.

“The issue now is that Sildex was transporting aliens to Fort Rozz with the intention of getting rid of them,” Hank explained, giving Alex a break.

“Okay, so why are we here and not there? I'd imagine you’d have a team and everything already up there sorting this out.”

“That’s the other issue.”

“How many _issues_ are we looking at here?!”

“Whatever Astra put in place, she coded her AI matrix to some kind of loyalty parameter.”

“To me,” Kara whispered, finally starting to understand.

“To Alex.”


	14. Chapter 14

Cat continued to look out the window watching National City pass her by while Lucy relayed those whereabouts to the rest of Cat’s legal team. She glanced up to the driver and his solid black attire realizing he was one of those agents from whatever organization apparently more people than she realized were a part of in her circle. 

“We’re not going to CatCo are we?” 

Lucy had just tucked her phone back into her pocket when Cat spoke, giving her a moment’s pause before she adjusted her jacket once more. There was no point in lying, for all she knew Kara had told her everything. It would be a surprise all things considered. 

“We’re going to a skiff location if you’re worried.”

“Worried is such a heavy word.” Cat allowed, watching the bulk of downtown National City thin out around them. “I prefer concerned when it counts.” Cat glanced over at Lucy who refused to look at her. “Worried I’m going to write a firsthand expose?”

Lucy let out a breath of amusement, the corner of her mouth lifting. “The thought had crossed my mind.”

“But?”

“It would mean exposing Kara, and others and paint an even bigger target on your ass than I’m sure you’d want to contend with.”

It was Cat’s turn to smirk, her wry hum of amusement lingering between them. “So you paid attention when you worked for me. However brief.”

Lucy gave a small nod to that before looking over at the other woman pointedly. “I told you from the start where my loyalties lay when I started with you.”

“You did. I find it rather fitting the full circle you’ve managed to come to on your own, regardless.”

Lucy shook her head slightly, turning her attention back to the window. Cat had warned her when she left not to get caught up on legacy, especially when she didn’t know the full truth of such things.

“You always did manage to see the bigger picture.” Lucy allowed.

“Not exactly,” Cat leaned back in her seat, recalling Kara’s mention of Cat’s own brand of superpower. She couldn’t always see the bigger picture. She could, however, see the potential in others wasted or otherwise. It was both a blessing and a curse. “I didn’t see this one.”

“Bullshit,” Lucy looked over at the other woman once more. “You saw enough to know how this would come around. Your time table was just pushed up. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have had half the contingencies you did in that vault of yours.”

Cat held back a smile, merely chewing on the inside of her cheek. “Always know how to read the room. Even if you’re not in it.” 

Lucy hmmed, studying Cat openly before the woman turned her gaze on her. Cat rose a single eyebrow in silent inquiry while Lucy doubled down on her stare. 

“Ask the question, Luce, before it burns a hole in your brain.”

“When did you know?”

“Be more specific, are we talking about you or Supergirl or-“

“Both.”

Cat nodded, watching Lucy closely before turning towards her. “You were both extraordinary from the moment you both crossed my path. She and Ix you and I, we have history.”

Lucy’s brow furrowed slightly as Cat drew in a deep breath.

“I knew about Kara, the instant she stood on the wing of that plane. I didn’t know with absolution, but I knew that woman whoever she was. I felt it in the deepest part of me. I knew her but didn’t know where or how. Maybe it was my prior exposure to her cousin, maybe it was being around her for years every day beforehand, but I knew. When she argued the point of her moniker, it clicked but I didn’t want to admit it for the longest time and that was enough for a while.”

Lucy shifted her jaw, taking it all in before looking back at Cat. “And me?”

“You’re a little more complicated.” Cat reached over then, taking hold of Lucy’s hand in a very uncharacteristic gesture. At least as far as Lucy was concerned. It was enough to make her look down at their hands in confusion before chancing a look up at Cat. 

“Do you remember when we first met?”

“You called me Little Lane.”

Cat shook her head. “ _First_ met.”

Lucy frowned, giving a shake of her head after a minute. 

“You were nearly seven,” Cat said gently, her tone reflective as she turned Lucy’s hand over. “You held my hand just like this when Lois brought you to the hospital.”

Lucy looked up at Cat, racking her brain trying to remember what in the world Cat was referring to. “I don’t…”

“You tried to take care of me even then, with your sister and father fighting in the hallway. It was right after Adam was born. My family wanted nothing to do with me or him at the time.”

“I don’t remember that,” Lucy said with a quiet sadness. “I should remember that.”

Cat gave a small shrug. “I was mousier then, not as blonde either.” Cat watched the other woman struggle with her memories and gave a firm squeeze to her hand once more after another minute. “Honestly, I wouldn’t expect you to, given everything that happened right after.”

Lucy frowned even more, pushing at her memories pulling up hazy bits and pieces until she drew in a sharp breath. Cat looked over at her apologetically before turning her gaze away. 

“I’m sorry I shouldn’t have said anything.”

“The car accident,” Lucy uttered, memories of her own hospital stay and the death of her mother rushing in. 

“I don’t think Lois ever forgave me for that,” Cat confessed, remembering how Sam and Ella had taken Lucy out of Cat’s room and told Lois off one more time. Their father more vehemently than their mother. All Ella had really done was soothe Lucy who didn’t understand at the time why she couldn’t stay. Lois had stood her ground, remaining with Cat at the hospital despite-

Lucy’s hand squeezed her own tightly as tears burned through the younger woman’s eyes. “That was not your fault, or Lois’s, outside of my father’s intolerant behavior, it was a drunk driver-” 

“That never would have hit you, if she hadn’t brought you to see me.” Cat swallowed thickly, looking ahead of herself once more, still holding Lucy’s hand. “I knew you were hard-headed then, dutiful, loyal and protective. You had absolutely no idea who or what I was and you stood there, held my hand and told me we’ve got this at six.” Cat smirked with the memory. 

“When it was clear you didn’t remember me after you joined CatCo but did what you did regardless when my emails were hacked, it just reminded me of all that again. So I made some legal changes to reflect that.”

Lucy studied Cat openly, jaw shifting slightly before she leaned forward and relayed a soft-spoken command into the driver’s ear. He looked over at her before complying and altering the direction of the car back towards the city. 

 

**\-------**

 

Alex stood in the load-out room surrounded by an arsenal of weapons that could take down any number of alien forces and yet all she could focus on was the one set dead center on the back wall. 

Everyone in the D.E.O. knew that was hers. No one dared to wield it for the sheer nightmare of having to be in such close proximity in order to even use it. That and it had an underlying reputation all its own that now made Alex wish she had locked it away. 

Alex reached up slowly, drawing the Kryptonite sword from the wall and turning it over in her hands. 

“That will only work against Kara at this point. Beyond the usual damage a weapon like that can cause.”

Hank’s voice behind her did little to settle her nerves as she thumbed at the locking mechanism along the sheath. 

“I know.” Alex turned then, looking at the man. 

“What aren’t you telling me?”

Alex raised an eyebrow at him, her expression laced with incredulity. “You really don’t know?”

“I can guess, and I could read your mind but you know I don’t like to do that for various reasons.”

Alex gave a nod, looking back to the sword. 

“How long did it last?”

Alex allowed a sad smile to touch her features with the question. “It never really started or ended. It just happened and then…”

“Does Kara know?” 

Alex shook her head looking back at Hank. “Not even a little.”

“And Miss Luthor? I’m not trying to pry, I just want to help if I can. If you’d rather I not, I understand.”

Alex let out a sigh of a breath giving a small shrug of a shoulder. “I don’t know.” Her voice wavered and she tightened her grip on the sword in an attempt to control her emotions. “She saved my life? I saved hers. That’s a poor way to look at anything I guess but it’s different somehow. Astra was different, not because she was Kara’s family, she was…”

“Important.”

Alex glanced up at him then giving a small nod. 

“Unexpectedly more than you thought she could be.” Hank continued, watching Alex carefully. 

“Something like that. It’s an odd thing to feel. This important connection that’s already there even when you’re complete strangers. It makes no sense to me beyond this... knowing. Like this missing piece of you that’s suddenly not anymore.” 

Hank smiled softly, crossing his arms over his chest. “You think I don’t know about that?” Alex frowned slightly. “We all make promises in our lives without knowing the full weight of those paths. You and your sister are one of those promises. So trust me when I say I understand without needing an explanation.”

Alex gave a small series of nods, pushing at her face and the wetness there with a gruff exhale. “Do you ever think…”

“What if I fail them again? Will I be doomed to repeat the same history I ran away from for so long and punished myself for all over again?”

The two stared at each other for a long time before Hank stepped closer, wrapping Alex up in a tight hug before speaking against her hairline. “All the time.”

Alex hugged Hank to her even harder, knowing she couldn’t hurt him as she fought for her next breath. 

“I also know how surprised and thankful I am every day that I’ve allowed myself the chance not to fail again.” 

Alex nodded against his shoulder, his hand smoothing over her head with all the comfort and compassion a father could offer. 

“I’m proud of you, no matter what, and Kara would be too once she wraps her head around it all. So don’t get lost in the noise Alex, this is another chance.”

“Thank you.”

“Directors... oh... I... sorry I-“

Hank released Alex slowly, letting her compose herself before turning. “What is it, Agent Vasquez?”

“Director Lane, sirs, she’s headed here.”

Hank looked confused as he turned to regard the agent while Alex adjusted her vest and looked aside. 

“She’s bringing Miss Grant.” 

 

Lucy walked alongside Cat, guiding her from the underground entrance towards the main operations floor. She glanced over at the other woman, noting her curiosity as she looked at the small space and its nondescript stainless steel surrounding. 

“Thank you for letting me change.” Cat offered absently, adjusting the DEO issue top along her waist before looking to the doors as the elevator continued up. 

“I could hear your shirt crunch when you walked, figured that wasn’t exactly comfortable and I’m not sure how long you’re going to be here now.”

“You’re going to get in trouble, aren’t you?” Cat mused without looking over. 

Lucy rocked back on her heels, fingers laced together casually behind her back. “Most likely, but it’s worth it. Besides, I owe Kara this one.”

Cat looked over at the woman before the elevator chimed, announcing their floor. She pulled in a deep breath as Lucy already made to move right as the doors opened. They made it about three steps before halting abruptly, the continuance of their path blocked by Hank, Alex, and Supergirl just behind the first pair. 

Kara held her breath, the sight of Cat in a D.E.O. issue uniform turning her insides over. She tried not to let it show but when Cat caught her gaze the other woman couldn’t help but smirk. 

Hank and Alex were far less enamored. Hank looked annoyed while Alex looked concerned. Lucy stepped in front of her, her posture set as she looked at the other two agents and ignored Kara’s failed attempt to appear stoic. 

“I’ve already read her in.” Lucy offered which prompted Hanks expression to darken. Lucy shifted her gaze to Alex then who remained silent. “She’s already agreed verbally to a litany of requirements for her presence here, but I figured if you wanted her to sign anything you’d prefer to be a witness to it.” 

Cat lifted her chin slightly, looking at the trio over Lucy’s frame to gauge their responses before leveling on Kara who again failed to contain the smile pulling at her mouth. 

“There’s still time before her requested debriefing with the President of you’d-“

“That’s enough,” Hank commanded, looking past Lucy towards Cat, filtering through her surface thoughts concerning Kara for the truth of Lucy’s statement before looking back to the shorter woman. “We’ll discuss this later. On the meantime, Director Danvers, escort Miss Grant to the secure meeting room, make sure she has everything she needs for her meeting.”

“Yes, sir.” Alex tipped her head to the side, watching Cat fall out of file and around Lucy order to follow her. As Cat passed Kara, she allowed the briefest of touches of their fingers before following her sister wordlessly. 

Supergirl started to follow until Hank called her back, returning to his side so she was between him and Lucy.

“We’ll talk about this later,” Hank stated pointedly before glancing to Kara. “I need the two of you to finalize Alpha and Delta Teams for transport. Lucy, you’ll be in charge of ground ops here alongside Vasquez who I’ve already directed back to the desert facility.” 

“What happens if this is all one big trap?” Lucy pushed one final time, knowing she had already crossed a line with Cat’s presence before any of them were ready, despite Hank’s prior mention of wanting to bring Cat in early on. She didn’t like the feeling of any of this, especially considering once they were all up there, there would literally be no way for them to return beyond the same means that had put them there. 

Even if they could manage to get someone up to Fort Rozz, it would take months, maybe even years to accomplish beyond using the single flyer pod belonging to Kara. 


	15. Chapter 15

Cat sat back in her chair after Olivia disconnected. The Presidential seal remaining on the screen until Alex switched the monitor off. 

Cat had almost forgotten she was even there and now found herself looking across the large table towards the other Danvers woman. 

Alex adjusted her belt and her holster, pushing the latter further back along her thigh before looking over at Cat. 

“If you’re trying to be intimidating it’s not working.”

“What would make you think that?”

Cat threw her a knowing stare, raising an eyebrow for emphasis. 

“I didn’t think I needed to say anything. You know where you are, how far this all reaches.” Alex gave a small shrug. “Why beat a dead horse?”

“Subtle.” Cat allowed, watching Alex as she crossed her arms over her chest and eyed Cat openly. 

“I try.”

Cat hummed with a small nod, not buying the display of confidence and cocky. “You’re her sister, I would have thought you had a speech prepared from the day you determined you were her protector. One that you’d be willing to give your left eye for just to dish out.”

“Maybe I’ve already given it.”

Cat watched Alex bristle under the scrutiny of her gaze before tipping her head a touch. Alex set her hands on her hips, shifting her weight to one leg as Cat’s amusement siphoned out of her expression. Alex had worked on a speech, any sibling would, but Kara wasn’t like any other sibling. 

“You gave it to Kara.” 

Alex glanced aside for a moment, checking the proximity sensor near the door before looking back at Cat. She drew in a deep breath under the other woman’s stare before crossing her arms over her chest. 

“Until about an hour ago the plausibility of giving it to you wasn’t an option.”

“You were never going to, though, were you?”

Alex let out a sigh, giving Cat all the answers she needed. 

“What’s going on?”

Alex raised an eyebrow at the other woman. “You’re not exactly-”

“I’m not a part of this organization, but I am a part of Kara’s-“

“You’ve been a part of her life in some kind of capacity beyond being her boss for four damn days.” Alex’s tone was rough around the edges and Cat stayed silent initially, given that the other woman wasn’t entirely wrong. 

Cat really had no place to argue that kind of point, despite whatever had happened or been modestly confessed between her and Kara in that cell. It didn’t equate to some great love affair that carried the kind of weight she was attempting to argue with Kara’s sister right now. But it wasn’t anything to just brush aside either. 

“I have always been in her corner, beyond just being her boss. Even when I’ve been hard on her.”

Alex stepped closer, coming to sit on the edge of the table close to Cat. “I know.” Alex had to admit, if anyone beyond her had been on Kara’s side it was indeed the Queen of all media. “She should be telling you not me.”

Cat studied Alex carefully, remembering a time when Kara had tried to do just that. “You ought to know her track record for difficult conversations, especially ones that might end in ‘if I survive.’”

Alex gave Cat a knowing glare before looking away from her again. Kara hadn’t even bothered with that much when it had come to Myriad. It was almost ironic how the same root cause of that issue was the basis for their current one. Only their brains wouldn’t be turned to mush, or so she hoped anyway. 

“Do you recall the other woman who called Kara out? The one who hovered over-‘

“My city and then played tag with Supergirl across it a hundred feet in the air.”

Alex nodded. “That was her aunt.”

Cat looked genuinely shocked at that, which told Alex just how much Kara had conversed with Cat on the subject of her super persona and its intricacies. 

“She… was a casualty of Myriad, or so we thought.”

“Meaning?”

“They- Kara’s- Kryptonians have this special technology, that allows them to basically record their minds into a holographic interface. Astra managed to do that before she died and upload it to that object Kara hurled into space.”

“What does this have to do with-“

“If you’ll let me finish,” Alex said pointedly as Cat sat back in her chair once more. “Sildex has been transporting aliens to that fortress.” Cat made to ask more but Alex’s stern look kept her silent. 

“We thought Kara had cleared it, that it’s been floating about in space this entire time. Instead, it activated a stealth protocol and has been orbiting the dark side of our moon.”

Cat already felt the hairs on the back of her neck prickle to attention although her features remained curiously passive. 

“When Le... Miss Luthor and I found Sildex’s base, we activated some kind of recovery failsafe with the AI. The only way it’s letting us reach those individuals, is if we transport onto it.”

There was no question concerning who else that ‘we’ entailed and Cat felt her heart clench in her chest. 

“That’s why Lucy-“

“Director Lane doesn’t feel it’s a good idea considering what we’ve already encountered with that fortress.”

“You can imagine my surprise when I say I agree.”

Alex drew in a deep breath then. “Kara doesn’t have to go. Not yet anyway, the AI’s contingent was that I be on board.”

“Even more reason not to agree to go.” Cat ushered causing Alex to look pointedly at her. 

“You’re her family Alexandra. Her touchstone. Not me or some masquerading AI. You. If you go, she goes.”

Alex let out a dark sigh, tightening the cross of her arms and looking towards her boots. “I can’t just leave all those people up there. Just like you couldn’t leave all those people in lockup.”

“Alexandra, this is different. That was the same building on the same planet. If anything happens what do you intend to do? Evacuate to the moon and hope whatever’s been left behind by NASA can get you through a few years before rescue?!”

“Jesus Cat, lower your voice.”

“Why? So Kara can’t hear? You know this is a bad plan. I can see it written all over your body. Why even agree, you know your odds if anything goes-“

“Nothing is going to go wrong.”

“You can’t possibly know that.” Cat studied the other woman and her refusal to look over at her, her focus still centered on her boots. Cat followed her gaze just to be sure she wasn’t missing anything vital before looking back at Alex’s profile her eyes narrowing. “You’re hiding something.” 

Alex looked over at her gradually, just staring the woman down. She was hiding a great many things. 

“Alexandra.”

Alex shifted her jaw turning her head back to face the wall, her voice quiet. “I was the one who killed Kara’s aunt,” she doesn’t want to explain it and hopes Cat doesn’t ask. Given how her posture shifts, she wants to but graciously stays silent. “And now I’m the one that has to go to that fortress or no one else can.”

“If that doesn’t have the word trap written all over I don’t know what does.” Cat allowed, never taking her eyes off Alex. “How do you know that AI isn’t programmed for some kind of ultimate long game revenge scenario?”

“That would be dishonorable.”

“Okay Clarice.”

Alex didn’t miss the reference and rolled her eyes letting out another sigh as she wrapped her hands around the edge of the table. “She’s not… like the other AI’s I’ve encountered from Kara’s world.”

“That’s supposed to make it better?”

“Worse.” Alex confessed looking back over at Cat with red-rimmed eyes. “I think it’s really her.”

 

**\-------**

  
Kara hauled the last of the supplies for the team into the transport while Lucy checked the last bit off the list. Thankful they didn’t have to use the loader all things considered. 

Kara wiped her hands together before closing the transport doors, taking a minute to really question if she wanted to say anything or just leave the minute tension building between them where it lay. 

Lucy had been her handler for the most part what with Hank and Alex running point on everything else. She had defied direct orders and brought Cat to the DEO which was not something Lucy did on a whim. Especially when she had done it so openly and provided Cat new clothes from the facilities reserves. 

That was intentional. She could have blinded her, knocked her out, taken her to wherever Cat had been designated to go and instead-

“Thank you… I think.” Kara said against the transport, waiting for the hitch in Lucy’s heartbeat before turning. “No telling what Hank’s gonna do when-“

“If you get back.” Lucy corrected, not looking up from her checklist as she verified it. “You know just as well as I do, we could have the same situation on our hands that we just got you out of on a much higher level.”

Kara crossed her arms over her chest, setting her hips until she felt comfortable as she looked at the smaller woman. 

“For one, you don’t have to go. For two, there will be very limited resources, three, anything happens and you have to evac we can’t get to you in any capacity, four we have no idea what that AI-“

“Okay. Okay Lu- Lane, I get it. I do, which is why I have to go. I know that technology like the back of my hand with my eyes closed.” Kara argued watching Lucy sign off on the checklist before tucking it under her arm to look at Kara. 

“It’s my Aunt. I know her. Her nuances, body language, tones and not like the others.”

“She’s a construct.” Lucy pushed, taking in a deep breath. “I still have a bad feeling about it and I’ve learned the hard way when I don’t trust those feelings.”

Kara let out a deep breath, holding out her arms in defeat. “I don’t know what you want me to say. That I agree? It’s not the smartest idea we’ve ever had but all those people... Lucy, we don’t even know how many are up there-“

“Another point.” Lucy stated firmly. “How do we know they haven’t broken out and are controlling that technology just to get you and the others up there so they can come back here without resistance?”

Lucy straightened as high as she could opposite Kara’s taller stature. “Going in under-manned and blind is not a good situation, even if you have someone on the inside. So much has the opportunity to go wrong. Not to mention, what about Cat?”

Whatever Kara had been expecting, Lucy throwing Cat’s name out like that was not one of them. 

“What about-“

“Have you told her? Does she know there’s a good possibility this goes to hell and you’re stuck?”

Kara’s brow furrowed as she stared at the other woman. “I don’t, no I haven’t but I can’t look at this like-“

“Maybe you should. Look, I know there’s a lot riding on this for a lot of people and we just got you and her cleared on top of shutting down Sildex. You spent a week in that jail, what’s it going to be like for her if she has to spend months, even years without you?”

Kara looked utterly taken aback and as Lucy replayed the words she had just spoken over in her head she realized her mistake. Having meant to say something along the lines of Earth and its people being without Supergirl but even in her head Cat was the boss, apparently. 

“I… I thought you said the comms only worked if-“

“Yeah, and you took too long to take it out at one point.” 

Kara swallowed roughly as Lucy let out a gruff sigh, tossing the clipboard aside before crossing her arms and putting more distance between them. 

“It wasn’t intentional.” Lucy began after a long series of moments her pace unending as she spun expertly on her heel and turned back to walk the same line. “I was going to update you on more than just the President’s address and you still had that thing in your ear.” She repeated the turn and continued. “Lucky for you we put it on a private channel beforehand or it would’ve been broadcast across HQ.”

Kara made an expression like a fish out of water. Trying to find words that wouldn’t come while her cheeks turned red, and she floundered about. 

“I can only assume what happened after, the details of which I don’t need, thank you. However,” Lucy stopped center, boots scraping the floor as she pivoted again to face Kara. “I waited forever for a confession like that and never got it. Even after everything-” Lucy stopped herself and shook her head changing her trajectory.

“Talk to her Kara.” Lucy left no room for argument. “Cat’s here in part, because she’s a reason we’re not having to bring back more people than we should be. She’s here because she took up a fight that you inspired in her and not the caped side of you either. It started with Kara Danvers, and when she figured out it could mean Supergirl you being taken from her… if that isn’t some kind of love I don’t know what is.” 

Kara stood stock still as Lucy looked her over, wondering where or why in the world she was suddenly in her corner or their corner or-

“I brought her here for you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Small note: I have a deadline I need to focus on or try to, in that there may be a delay on the next chapter(s)
> 
> Hopefully it won't be forever and a day bit I need to be sure to get it done.

**Author's Note:**

> The title comes from Big Joe Turner's song of the same name circa 1956


End file.
